THE KINGSLEY ENGLISH 



12808 
K5 



JULIUS CiESAR 



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SJH^KESfE^E 



The 

Palmer 
Company 



GUj* Ktngalrg fotglifiij (ilrxtB 



SHAKESPEARE'S 

TRAGEDY OF 

JULIUS CiESAR 



EDITED, WITH NOTES, OUTLINE STUDY 
AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 

BY 

MAUD ELMA KINGSLEY, A. B., A. M. 

AND 

FRANK HERBERT PALMER, A. B., A. M. 



BOSTON ', U. S. A. 
THE PALMER COMPANY 

JO Bromfield Street 
1908 






ratffr 



UBRARY of CONGRESS. 
J wo CoDtcs rtecewed 

JUN 24 1908 

COPY B. __ 



Copyright, igoS 

BY 

The Palmer Company 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface v 

! Introduction vii 

Scene Settings; Julius Cesar.: . 

Act I, Scene I. . .A Street i 

Scene II. A Public Place 6 

Scene III. A Street 24 

Act II, Scene I. Brutus' Orchard 33 

Scene II. Caesar's House 50 

Scene III. A Street near the Capitol 58 

Scene IV. A Street before Brutus' House 60 

Act III, Scene I. Rome before the Capitol 63 

Scene II. The Forum 79 

Scene III. A Street .*. 93 

Act IV, Scene I. A House in Rome 95 

Scene II. Camp near Sardis 99 

Scene III. Interior of Brutus' Tent 104 

Act V, Scene I. Plains of Philippi 121 

Scene II. A Field of Battle 128 

Scene III. Another Part of the Field.... 129 

Scene IV. Another Part of the Field.... 135 

Scene V. Another Part of the Field.... 138 

Outline Study of Julius Cesar 3 

Examination Questions 19 



PREFACE. 

The plays of Shakespeare, as first produced under 
the direction of the author, were acted practically 
without scenery or stage accessories of any kind 
and in costumes differing- from the ordinary dress 
of the sixteenth century only where the sense of the 
lines absolutely demanded some distinctive article of 
apparel. The play of JULIUS CESAR, however, 
follows so closely the actual events of an important 
crisis of the world's history, that it seems necessary 
to make some attempt to describe the actual costumes 
and surroundings of the living persons whose deeds 
and character form the groundwork of the drama. 

These descriptions are not, of course, put forward 
as a practical scheme for staging the play. It has, 
however, been kept in mind that it is Shakespeare's 
play and not Roman History that is being illustrated, 
and no more violence has been done to the ideas of 
the dramatist than is done whenever one of Shake- 
speare's dramas is produced on the modern stage. 

The authorities followed are Plutarch, Suetonius' 
Lives of Julius Caesar and Augustus, and Cicero's 
Philippics, for the persons and events ; Guhl and 
Koner's " Life of the Greeks and Romans " and 
Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, for the 
costumes and accessories; and various recent maps, 



vi PREFACE 

plans, and descriptions of Ancient Rome, for the 
localities. 

The editors believe that the descriptions or " scene- 
settings " will materially aid the student in visualizing 
the scenes ; and that this feature, with the inclusion of 
the Kingsley Outline Study in the place of elaborate 
notes, justifies their edition of the play. 

Brief foot-notes on each page are easily accessible, 
which seems a better arrangement than more volu- 
minous ones that must be hunted up at a waste of 
time and a dissipation of attention. 

The Editors. 
Boston, Mass. 

May ist, 1908. 



INTRODUCTION. 

I. CHARACTER OF THE) PLAY. 

"JULIUS CESAR" is a dramatization of that 
portion of Plutarch's Lives of Caesar and Brutus 
which deals with Caesar's assassination, the circum- 
stances which led up to it, and the events which fol- 
lowed in consequence of it. It carries the reader to 
Rome in the early Spring* of the year 44 B. C, and 
brings before him Brutus and Caesar : — the former, 
the patriotic dreamer, who would sacrifice his coun- 
try's interests for its ideals ; the latter, the practical 
politician, coldly and selfishly ambitious, offering his 
country peace and prosperity at the price of its liberty. 

2. HISTORICAL, FOUNDATION OF THE PLAY. 

The historical events upon which the play is found- 
ed are", briefly, as follows : — Caius Julius Caesar, a 
Roman noble, general, and politician, after a long civil 
war in which he had been opposed by the greater part 
of the nobility and by a rival general, Cneius Pom- 
poms, had made himself master of the Roman State 
(B. C. 46), and had ruled with all the power of a 
monarch, although he had rejected the royal title and 
insignia. The rule of Caesar was enlightened, humane, 
and just. Under his strong hand, the state enjoyed 
a condition of safety and orderly government to which 
it had long been a stranger; and the poorer citizens 



viii INTRODUCTION 

were relieved from the domination of a narrow- 
minded and selfish nobility. These considerations 
made Caesar's usurpation acceptable to the masses of 
the Roman people; but a powerful faction of the 
nobility could not endure that Rome should submit 
to a despot after so long and glorious a career as a 
republic, nor that they themselves should be obliged 
to recognize as master a man who had been no more , 
than their equal. As Caesar had no heir who seemed 
capable of becoming his successor, it seemed to the 
malcontent nobles that Caesar's life was the only 
obstacle to the restoration of the republican consti- ! 
tution. . To remove this obstacle, a conspiracy was I 
formed, as the result of which Caesar was stabbed to j 
death in the Senate House, March 15th, B. C. 44. 
His slayers justified their crime, which was compli- 
cated in the case of many of them by circumstances 
of the blackest treachery and ingratitude, bv the argu- 
ment that any means are justifiable by which patriotic 
citizens may rid their country of a tyrant. 

The only result of the murder of Caesar was to let 
loose an avalanche of anarchy of which the conspira- 
tors were the first victims. Expelled from Rome by ' 
the hostile mob excited by Caesar's generals, Antonius 
and Lepidus, most of the conspirators ended their 
lives miserably, — in battle, by suicide, or at the hands 
of the executioner; and the Romans, thoroughly con- 
vinced that freedom and orderly government were 
incompatible, sought only a wise and capable master. 



I 



INTRODUCTION ix 



Him they found in Caesar's nephew and adopted son, 
Octavius. 

3. UTtfRARY CHARACTERISTICS 01? THE PLAY. 

The play of "JULIUS CESAR," although not 
usually classed among the historical dramas of Shake- 
speare, has every claim to be considered one of them. 
I So far as it goes, there is no better authority for any 
period of human history than is the work of Plutarch 
ifor the last days of the Roman Republic; and Shake- 
speare follows his author with a literalness almost 
• painful. In truth, the crisis of the death of Caesar 
' is one of those rare occasions when the actual events 
of history group themselves in the form of a stupen- 
dous living drama, in comparison with which the 
highest efforts of dramatic genius must seem puny 
and trivial. It is, perhaps, for this reason, that, as a 
purely literary production, this play must be assigned 
ito a secondary position among its author's works. It 
seems to have been written wholly for the stage ; and, 
I as an example of the playwright's art, it is a marvel ; 
j but no characters are created and no dramatic situ- 
ations are conceived. The actors, the incidents, and, 
With the exception of the funeral oration of Antony, 
I the very speeches are transferred bodily from the dry 
, prose history. In the popular estimation, however, 
; " JULIUS CESAR " has always ranked very high, 
both as a play and as an interpretation of history. It 
would be hard to find any production of equal length 
that has furnished so many current quotations and 



xii INTRODUCTION 

Cassius. — Cassius is a man of another stamp. He 
is older than Brutus, a matured man of the world. 
Jealousy and wounded pride are the sources of his 
hatred. He does not owe his life to Caesar's clem- 
ency; since he has made peace with him on equal 
terms at the head of an unconquered fleet and army. 'j 
Caesar has honored and advanced him ; but who is 
Caesar that he should be able to honor and advance 
the general who saved Syria from the Parthians? 
Honors flung to a proud-spirited man by H¥l equal 
who has passed him in ambition's race are stinging- 
insults ; but even if Cassius were willing to stoop to 
the trade of the courtier, his rough nature and impet- 
uous temper would disqualify him for such employ- 
ment. He sees that the devoted and obsequious An- 
tony, Brutus, the urbane and courtly philosopher, and 
men like them or worse will soon close the gate of 
honor on the stubborn and quick-tempered soldier. 
He is not, like Brutus, a worshipper of Republican 
ideals ; but he knows that of such men as he the old 
Roman Republic was made ; and he shares with Brutus 
the delusion that the death of Caesar will at once 
restore the old constitution. 

Antony. — The character of Antony, as described by ™ 
Plutarch, is that of a skillful political gambler, prod- 
igal in prosperity, careless in adversity. A man who, 
in a troubled time, might well attain ambition's high- 
est rewards, but who could never be accepted by a 
sane people as a nation's guardian. To this character 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

the dramatist has added a touch of genuine feeling. 
In the play, Antony's devoted admiration for his 
friend and benefactor is deep-seated and sincere. He 
will stake everything else on the one more throw of 
the political dice which he asks from Caesar's mur- 
derers. If they win, he will be their slave ; but not 
their friend. The known sincerity of his friendship 
for the dead gives his funeral oration its decisive 
effect. "He was my friend"; "My heart is in the 
coffin there with Cccsar" : — such expressions must 
ring true if they are to be effective; and it is the true 
ring of human sympathy that rouses the storm of 
indignation against the cold arguments of the safer 
leaders. 



JULIUS C^SAR 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT I— SCENE I.— A STREET. 

Note. This opening scene, without a single didactic line, 
shows (i) That the commanding position of Caesar rests 
largely on the favor of the fickle and unthinking mob ; (2) 
that opposition to him is strong among patriotic and thought- 
ful men. 

(1). Setting of the Scene. 

A street corner formed by the intersection of a street 
leading from the poorer quarters of the city with the "Sacred 
Way," along which triumphal processions passed to the Cap- 
itol. In the foreground is a street about thirty feet wide 
paved with blocks of lava; to the right are the lofty Corin- 
thian columns of a temple ; to the left, a marble portico. In 
the background is a wider street, with the Forum (an open 
square devoted to public assemblies) in the distance. A bust 
of Caesar, crowned with a diadem and adorned with streamers 
and garlands, is conspicuous in the foreground. 

(2). Actors. 

Certain Commoners. These were some of the Ple- 
beians or poorer citizens of Rome. (These Plebeians were 
not merely a distinct social class, but a separate political order 
as well, with well-defined privileges and duties). 

Flavins & Marullus, Tribunes of the Commons. (Offi- 
cers chosen expressly to watch over the Plebeian Order). 

(3). Costumes. 

The Tribunes wear the distinctive Roman toga — a 
shawl or cloak made of a single piece of pure white woolen 



2 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

cloth, about five yards long and four yards wide. This cloth 
is thrown over the left shoulder and wrapped in graceful folds 
so as to cover the whole body from the neck to below the 
knees, except the right arm, which is bare. Their heads are 
bare; their feet and ankles are encased in high laced boots 
of leather. 

The Commons are dressed in the same manner except 
that their togas are not pure white, but dingy brown or black, 
the natural color of the wool ; and their foot coverings are 
clumsy sandals strapped across the naked foot and ankle. 
(4). Time of Action. February 15, 44 B. C. 



THE TEXT 

ACT I 
SCENE I. Rome. A street. 

Bnter Flavius, Marui^us, and certain Commoners. 

Flav. Hence ! home, you idle creatures, get you 
home : 
Is this a holiday ? What ! know you not, 
Being mechanical, 1 you ought not walk 
Upon a labouring, day without the sign 
Of your profession ? Speak, what trade art thou ? 

First Com. Why, sir, a carpenter. 

Mar. Where is thy leather apron and thy rule? 
What dost thou with thy best apparel on ? 
You, sir, what trade are you ? 

1 " Since you are but a common artisan." 



20 



Scenic I] JULIUS C&SAR 

Sec. Coin. Truly, sir, in respect of a fine work- 
man, I am but, as you would say, a cobbler. 2 

Mar. But what trade art thou? answer me 
directly. 

Sec. Com. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use 
with a safe conscience; which is, indeed, sir, a 
mender of bad soles. 

Mar. What trade, thou knave? thou naughty" 1 
knave, what trade? 

Sec. Com. Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out 

with me : yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you. 

Mar. What meairst thou by that? mend me, 
thou saucy fellow ! 

Sec. Com. Why, sir, cobble you. 

flav. Thou art a cobbler, art thou? 

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, all that I live by is with 
the awl : I meddle with no tradesman's matters, nor 
women's matters, but with awl. I am indeed, sir, 
a surgeon to old shoes ; when they are in great 
danger, I recover them. As proper men as ever 
trod upon neat's leather have gone upon my handi- 
work. 4 * 

2 "A bungling' workman." 

3 "Worthless. 

4 This comic by-play is a favorite comedy device of early 
playwrights. Shakespeare never pretends to pedantic real- 
ism. Wherever the scene of his drama may be laid, the actors 
speak and think in English. 

Suggestion. — Write sentences containing the words me- 
chanical, cobble, naughty and naught and compare the mod- 
ern English with the Elizabethan meaning. 



4 JULIUS C7ESAR [Act I 

Flav. But wherefore art not in thy shop to-day? 
Why dost thou lead these men about the streets ? 30 

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, 
to get myself into more work. But, indeed, sir, we 
make holiday, to see Caesar and to rejoice in his 
triumph. 

Mar. Wherefore rejoice? What conquest 
brings he home? 

What tributaries follow him to Rome, 

To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels ? 

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless 

thing's ! 
O you hard hearts, 37-011 cruel men of Rome, 
Knew you not Pompey. 5 Many a time and oft 
Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements 
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 
The live-long day, with patient expectation, 
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome : 
And when you saw his chariot but appear, 
Have you not made an universal shout, 
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks/ 
To hear the replication of your sounds 
Made in her concave shores? 
And do you now put on your best attire ? 
And do you now cull out a holiday? 6 
And do you now strew flowers in his way 

5 Outline Study B., I., 1, a — c. 

6 "Is this a suitable day to choose for a holiday?" 



40 



50 



Scsne I] JULIUS C2ESAR 5 

That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood? 7 
Be gone ! 

Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, 
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague 
That needs must light on this ingratitude. 

Flav. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this 
fault, 
Assemble all the poor men of your sort; 
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears 60 
Into the channel, till the lowest stream 
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all. 

[Exeunt all the Commoners. 
See, whe'r their basest metal be not mov'd ; 
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. 
Go you down that way towards the Capitol ; 
This way will I : disrobe the images, 
If you do find them deck'd with ceremony. 8 

Mar. May we do so? 
You know it is the feast of Tupercal. 9 

Flav. It is no matter; let no images 70 

Be hung with Caesar's trophies. I'll about, 



7 Pompey's sons. 

8 Ceremonial decorations. 

9 A yearly feast held on February 15, first instituted in 
honor of the she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. 
"Many young noblemen," says Plutarch, describing this 
festival, "run up and down the city with their upper garment 
off, striking all they meet with thongs of hide, by way of 
sport." 

Suggestion. — What effect is produced by the change in 
lines 45-53 from the declarative to the interrogative form? 



6 JULIUS C2BSAR [Act I 

And drive away the vulgar 10 from the streets: 

So do you too, where you perceive them thick. 

These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing 

Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, 

Who else would soar above the view of men 79 

And keep us all in servile tearfulness. 

[Exeunt. 

10 The common people. 

Suggg-estion. — Trace the word vulgar to its present mean- 
ing-. Cf. "vulgar fractions." Paraphrase the last four lines 
of this scene. 



SCENE-SETTING. 
ACT I.— SCENE II -A PUBLJC PLACE. 

Note. This scene introduces all the principal characters of 
the drama ; unfolds the plot of the play ; and, for the moment, 
convinces the reader of the patriotic necessity for thwarting 
the ambition of Caesar. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The north end of. the Forum. In the foreground, is a 
paved open square. The background is formed by the Temple 
of Concord with its elaborate Corinthian pillars, elevated 
high above the street and approached by a grand marble stair- 
way. In the distance, over the gilded roof of the temple, is 
seen the top of the Capitol with its colossal gilded statue of 
Jupiter. 



Scene II] JULIUS CAESAR 7 

(2.) Actors. 

Cains, Julius Cccsar, Perpetual Dictator and Consul of 
the Roman people. (See page x). 

Caesar is a man of fifty five years of age ; tall and 
somewhat spare, but with a full, firm face; fair complexion; 
and large expressive black eyes. 

Marcus Antonius, Caesar's Colleague in the Consul- 
ship. He appears in this scene as one of the officiating priests 
of the Lupercalia. 

Antony is a man of forty. He has a full black beard, 
and short, crisp, black hair cut high on the forehead. His eyes 
are black and piercing. 

Calpumia, the wife of Caesar. 

Portia, the wife of Brutus. 

Dccius (Dccimus) Brutus, one of the most trusted of 
Csesar's generals and friends ; of the same family, but not a 
near kinsman of Marcus Brutus. 

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Senator and former Consul, 
the greatest orator and most learned man among the Romans 
of his day. 

Cicero is a man of more than sixty years ; but is still 
vigorous and erect. His face is that of a scholar and a 
philosopher, — round and full with a rather weak expression 
about the mouth and chin. He has a high forehead and thin 
gray hair. 

Cains Cassias Longinus, Senator and Praetor. Next 
to Caesar himself, Rome's most distinguished general. (See 
page xii). 

Cassius may be represented as a tall thin man of fifty, 
with a sallow complexion, black eyes, and a rough, grizzled 
beard. 

Publius Servilius Casca, a young nobleman. 

Marcus Junius Brutus, Senator and Praetor. (See 
page x). 

Brutus is a young man with smoothly shaven face, 
aquiline nose, and large intelligent eyes. 



8 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

The Crozvd is composed of male citizens, mainly of 
the poorer class. 

The Soothsayer, probably an Etruscan. He carries in 
his hand the curved staff, the badge of the official augurs. 
(3). Costumes. 

Caesar wears a toga of a rich purple color fastened on 
the right shoulder with a jewelled brooch. He wears a golden 
circlet on his head as an ornament. (Cicero, Philippic II.). 

The Ladies wear the dress of the Roman matron, — the 
stola, hanging from the shoulders to the ground, belted at the 
waist, forming a skirt; and the palla, a. garment very much 
like the toga, folded about the body to form an overdress. 
Both garments are of silk and may have been either white, 
violet, purple or blue. Light sandals are strapped on the bare 
feet. Both ladies wear as much jewelry as can be attached 
to. their persons. In accordance with 'the Roman custom, 
they are not walking, but are seated or are reclining each in an 
elaborately carved sedan chair or palanquin, borne by four tall 
slaves clothed in scarlet tunics. This vehicle is hung with 
silk curtains which are drawn back. 

Antony is attired for the ceremonial race. .He wears 
a scanty tunic of goatskin strapped over the bare shoulders ; 
legs bare ; feet protected by light sandals. In his hand he car- 
ries a leather thong or whip. 

Brutus & Cassius wear togas with a narrow purple 
stripe, the mark of senatorial rank. 
(4). Time of the Action. 

Later in the day of i. 1. Ceesar is supposed to have 
gone up to the Capitol escorted by his triumphal procession; 
to have offered the sacrifice to Jupiter ; and to have dismissed 
the procession. He is now watching the ceremonies of the 
Lupercalia. 



Scene II] JULIUS C2ESAR 



SCENE II. A public place. 
Flourish. 1 Enter Cesar; Antony., for the course; Cae- 
purnia, Portia, Decius, Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Casca ; 
a great crowd following, among them a Soothsayer. 

Sooth. Caesar ! 

Cccs. Ha ! who calls ? 

Casca. Bid every noise be still : peace yet 

again ! 
Cccs. Who is it in the press that calls on me? 
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, 
Cry "Caesar!" Speak; Caesar is tunvd to hear. 
Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 2 
Cccs. What man is that? 

Brn. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of 

March. 
Cccs. Set him before me ; let me see his face. 
Cos. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon 

Caesar. 
Cccs. What say'st thou to me now? speak once 

again. 
Sooth. Beware the ides of of March. 
Cccs. He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. 

[Sennet* Exeunt all except Brutus and Cassius. 

1 A blast of trumpets sounded to herald the approach of 
any person of distinction. 

2 March 15th. 

3 A particular set of notes on the trumpet or cornet, differ- 
ent from a flourish. 



io JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

Cas. Will you go see the order of the course ? 

Bru. Not I. 

Cas. I pray you, do. 

Bru. I am not gamesome : I do lack some part 
Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. 
Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires; 30 

I'll leave you. 

Cas. Brutus, I do observe you now of late: 
I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
And show of love as I was wont to have : 
You bear too stubborn 4 and too strange a hand 
Over your friend that loves you. 

Bru. Cassius, 

Be not deceiv'd : if I have veil'd my look, 
I turn the trouble of my countenance 
Merely upon myself. Vexed I am 
Of late with passions of some difference, 40 

Conceptions only proper to myself, 
Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviour ; 
But let not therefore my good friends be griev'd — 
Among which number, Cassius, be you one — 
Nor construe any further my neglect, 
Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, 
Forgets the shows of love to other men. 

Cas. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your 
passion ; 5 

4 Harsh. 

5 Feeling. 



Scene II] JULIUS CJESAR n 



50 



By means whereof this breast of mine hath buried 
Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. 
Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face ? 

Bru. No, Cassius ; for the eye sees not itself 
But by reflection, — by some other thing. 

Cas. 'T is just : 
And it is very much lamented, Brutus, 
That you have no such mirrors as will turn 
Your hidden worthiness into your eye, 
That you might see your shadow. I have heard, 
Where many of the best respect in Rome, 
Except immortal Caesar, speaking- of Brutus 60 

And groaning underneath this age's yoke, 
1 lave wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes. 

Bru. Into what dangers would you lead me, 
Cassius, 
That you would have me seek into myself 
For that which is not in me? 

Cas. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepar'd to 1 
hear : 
And since you know you cannot see yourself 
So well as by reflection, I, your glass, 
Will modestly discover to yourself 
That of yourself which you yet know not of. r4 ' 

And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus: 
Were I a common laugher, or did use 
To stale with ordinary oaths my love 

6 "Be not suspicious of me." 

Suggestion. — Give the significance of "age's yoke." 



12 



JULIUS C7ESAR [Act I 



To every new protester; if you know 
That I do fawn on men and hug them hard 
And after scandal 7 them, or if you know 
That I profess 8 myself in banqueting 
To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. 

[Flourish , and shout. 

Bru. What means this shouting? I do fear, 
the people 
Choose Caesar for their king. 9 

Cas. Ay, do you fear it? 80 

Then must I think you would not have it so. 

Bru. I would not, Cassius ; yet I love him well. 
But wherefore do you hold me here so long? 
What is it that you would impart to me ? 
II it be aught toward the general good, 
Set honour in one eye and death i' th' other, 10 
And I will look on both indifferently, 11 
For let the gods so speed me. as I love 
The name of honour more than I fear death. 

Cas. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 
As well as I do know your outward favour. 12 
Well, honour is the subject of my story. 



13 



7 In modern English is scandal ever a verb? 
S To pretend friendship. 

9 See Outline C, I, 6, b. 

10 "If with one eye I gazed at honor and with the other 
beheld death, I would look at each with the same steady 
gaze," i. e., Death cannot frighten ma from the path of honor. 

11 Impartially. 

12 Personal appearance. 

13 See Outline Study note 19. 



c 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 13 

I cannot tell what you and other men 

Think of this life; but, for my single self, 

I had as lief 14 not be as live 14 to be 

In awe of such a thing as I myself. 

I was born free as Caesar ; so were you : 

We both have fed as well, and we can both 

Endure the winter's cold as well as he : 

For once, upon a raw and gusty day, 10 ° 

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, 

Caesar said to me "Dar'st thou, Cassius, now 

Leap in with me into this angry flood, 

And swim to yonder point?" Upon the word, 

Accoutred as I was, I plunged in 

And bade him follow ; so indeed he did. 

The torrent roar'd, and we did bufTet it 

With lusty sinews, throwing it aside 

And stemming it with hearts of controversy; 15 

But ere we could arrive the point propos'd, no 

Caesar cried, "Help me, Cassius, or I sink I" 

I, as .-Eneas, our great ancestor, 

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 

The old Anchises bear, 16 so from the waves of 

Tiber 
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man 
Is now become a god, and Cassius is 

14 Note the play on words. 

15 Antagonism. 

16 Aeneas, the hero of the "Aeneid" and the legendary- 
founder of the Roman race, escaped from burning Troy, 
carrying upon his shoulders his aged father Anchises. 



14 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act I 

A wretched creature and must bend his body, 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 

He had a fever when he was in Spain, 

And when the fit was on him, I did mark 12 ° 

How he did shake : 'tis true, this god did shake : 

His coward lips did from their colour fly, 17 

And that same eye whose bend ls doth awe the 

world 
Did lose his lustre : I did hear him groan : 
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans 
Mark him and write his speeches in their books, 
Alas, it cried "Give me some drink, Titinius," 
As a. sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me 
A man of such a feeble temper 19 should 
So get the start of the majestic world 13 ° 

And bear the palm alone. 20 

[Shout. Flourish. 

Bru. Another general shout! 
I do believe that these applauses are 
For some new honours that are heap'd on Caesar. 

Cas. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow 
world 



17 "He turned pale." Carry out the metaphor. 

18 Glance. 

19 Temperament. 

20 In lines 117-120, Cassius sums up his whole argument — 
"I am amazed that a man so like ordinary mortals should be 
treated as if he were a god," 



Scsns II] JULIUS CMSAR 15 

Like a Colossus, 21 and we petty men 

Walk under his huge legs and peep about 

To find ourselves dishonourable 22 graves. 

Men at some time are masters of their fates : 

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 23 14 ° 

But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 

Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 

"Caesar" ? 
Why should that name be sounded 24 more than 

yours ? 
Write them together, yours is as fair a name ; 
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well ; 
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure 25 with 'em, 
"Brutus" will start a spirit as soon as "Caesar." 
Now, in the names of all the gods at once, 
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, 
That he is grown so great? 26 Age, thou art 

shanrd ! 150 

21 Cassius refers to the huge statue of Apollo at Rhodes, 
which, according to tradition, stood astride the mouth of the 
port, so that ships under full sail could pass between its 
legs. 

22 Destitute of honor. The word conveys no idea of dis- 
grace as it does in modern English. 

23 "According to astrology, those leading stars which are 
above the horizon at a person s birth, influence his life and 
fortune. When those stars are in the ascendant, he is 
strong, healthy and lucky; but when they are depressed be- 
low the horizon, his stars do not shine on him and he is 
subject to ill-fortune." 

24 Repeated. 

25 Spirits could be "conjured" or raised up by the utter- 
ance of certain magic words. 

26 Paraphrase. 



i6 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

Rome, thou has lost the breed of noble bloods ! 
When went there by an age, since the great 

flood, 27 
But it was fam'd with more than with one man? 
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome, 
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man? 
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough, 
When there is in it but one only man. 
O, you and I have heard our fathers say, 
There was a Brutus once that would have 

brook'd 28 
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome 160 

As easily as a king. 

Bru. That you do love me, I am nothing 

jealous; 29 
What you would work me to, I have some aim : 30 
How I have thought of this and of these times, . 
I shall recount hereafter; for this present, 
I would not, so with love I might entreat you, 
Be any further mov'd. What you have said 
1 will consider; what you have to say 
I will with patience hear, and find a. time 
Both meet to hear and answer such high things. 17 ° 
Till then, my noble friend, chew 31 upon this : 

27 The flood of classic mythology. 

28 Endured. 

29 Doubtful. 

30 Conjecture. 

31 Reflect. This is a figurative meaning of the word. 
Trace the metaphor. 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 17 

Brutus had rather be a villager 32 
Than to repute himself a son of Rome 
Under these hard conditions as this time 
Is like to lay upon us. 

Cos. I am glad that my weak words 
Have struck but thus much show of fire from 
Brutus. 33 

Bra. The games are done and Caesar is re- 
turning. 

Cas. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the 
sleeve ; 
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you 18 ° 

What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. 
Re-enter Caesar and his Train. 

Bru. I will do so. But, look you, Cassius, 
The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brow, 
And all the rest look like a chidden train : 
Calpurnia's cheek is pale ; and Cicero 
Looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes 
As we have seen him in the Capitol, 

Cas. Casca will tell us what the matter is. 

Cces. Antonius ! 19 ° 

Ant. Caesar? 

Cces. Let me have men about me that are fat : 
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights : 
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look ; 
He thinks too much : such men are dangerous. 

32 See Outline Study note 9. 

33 Paraphrase and explain the metaphor. 



iS JULIUS C2ESAR [Act I 

Being cross'd in conference with some senators. 

Ant. Fear him not, Caesar ; he's not dangerous ; 
He is a noble Roman and well given. 34 

Ccus. Would he were fatter ! But I fear him 
not: 
Yet if my name were liable to fear, 
J do not know the man I should avoid 200 

vSo soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much ; 
He is a great observer, and he looks 
Quite through the deeds of men ; he loves no plays, 
As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music ; 
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort 
As if he mock'd himself and scorn'd his spirit 
That could be mov'd to smile at any thing. 
Such men as he be never at heart's ease 
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves, 
And therefore are they very dangerous. 21 ° 

I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd 
Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar. 
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, 
And tell me truly what thou think'st of him. 35 

[Sennet. .'Exeunt Ccesar and all his Train, but Casca. 

Casca. You pull'd me by the cloak; would you 
speak with me ? 

Bru. Ay, Casca ; tell us what hath chanc'd to- 
day, 
That Caesar looks so sad. 

Casa. Why, you were with him, were you not? 



34 Well-disposed. 

35 See Outline Study note 19. 



Scene II] JULIUS CJESAR 19 

Bru. I should not then ask Casca what had 
chanc'd. 

Casca. Why, there was a crown offer'd him : 
and being offer'd him, he put it by with the back 
of his hand, thus f Q and then the people fell 
a-shouting. 222 

Bru. What was the second noise for? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 

Cas. They shouted thrice : what was the last 
cry for? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 

Bru. Was the crown offer'd him thrice? 

Casca. Ay, marry, was 't, and he put it by 
thrice, every time gentler than other; and at every 
putting-by mine honest neighbors shouted. 230 

Cas. Who offer'd him the crown? 

Casca. Why, Antony. 

Bru. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca. 

Casca. I can as well be hang'd as tell the man- 
ner of it : it was mere foolery ; I did not mark it. 
I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown ; — yet 't 
was not a crown neither, 't was one of these coro- 
nets ; — and, as I told you, he put it by once : but, for 
all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. 
Then he offer'd it to him again; then he put it by 
again : but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay 

36 What would "be the significance of such a gesture? 
Suggestion. — Note the chief characteristics of Cassius as 
enumerated by Caesar. 



250 



20 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

his fingers off it. And then he offer'd it the third 
time ; he put it the third time by : and still as he re- 
fus'd it, the rabblement shouted and clapp'd their 
chapp'd hands and threw up their sweaty night- 
caps and utter'd such a deal of stinking breath be- 
cause Caesar refus'd the crown that it had almost 
choked Caesar; for he swounded and fell down at 
it: and for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for 
fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air. 

Cas. But, soft, I pray you : what, did Caesar 
swound ? 

Casca. He fell down in the market-place and 
foam'd at mouth, and was speechless. 

Bru. 'T is very like; he hath the falling sick- 
ness. 37 

Cas. No, Caesar hath it not ; but you and I 
And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness. 38 

Casca. I know not what you mean by that ; but, 
I am sure, Caesar fell down. If the rag-tag people 
did not clap him and hiss him, according as he 
pleas'd and displeas'd them, as they use to do the 
players in the theatre, I am no true man. 

Bru. What said he when he came unto himself? 

Casca. Marry, before he fell down, when he 
perceiv'd the common herd was glad he refus'd the 



37 Epilepsy. 

38 "We have to pay homage to Caesar." 

Suggestion.- — Point out the difference between Casca's man- 
ner of telling a story and that of Cassius. 



261 



Scsne JI] JULIUS CMSAR 21 

crown, he pluck'd me ope his doublet 39 and offer'd 
them his throat to cut. An I had been a man of 
any occupation, 40 if I would not have taken him at 
a word, I would I might go to hell among the 
rogues. And so he fell. When he came to him- 
self again, he said, If he had done or said any 
thing amiss, he desir'd their worships to think it 
was his infirmity. 41 Three or four wenches, where 
I stood, cried "Alas, good soull" and forgave him 
with all their hearts : but there's no heed to be 
taken of them ; if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, 
they would have done no less. 275 

Bru. And after that, he came, thus sad, away? 

Casca. Ay. 

Cas. Did Cicero say anything? 
• Casca. Ay, he spoke Greek. 

Cas. To what effect? 

Casca. Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look 
you i' th' face again : but those that understood him 
smil'd at one another and shook their heads; but, 
for mine own part, it was Greek to me. 42 I could 

39 Shakespeare dressed his characters in Elizabethan cos- 
tume. 

40 "If I had been an artisan." 

41 "And as he threw his cloak from his shoulders he called 
out to his friends that he was ready to offer his throat to 
anyone who wished to kill him; but afterwards he alleged 
his disease as an excuse for his behavior, saying that per- 
sons who are so affected cannot usually keep their senses 
steady." Plutarch. 

42 A "saying" current in modern English. 



22 JULIUS CMSAR .[Act I 

tell you more news too : Marullus and Flavius, for 
pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to 
silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery 
yet, if I could remember it. 

Cas. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca ? 

Casca. No, I am promis'd forth. 43 

Cas. Will you dine with me to-morrow? 

Casca. Ay, if I be alive and your mind hold and 
your dinner worth the eating. 

Cas. Good : I will expect you. 

Casca. Do so. Farewell, both. 

\_Bxit. 

Bru. What a blunt fellow is this grown to be ! 
He was quick metal when. he went to school. 

Cas. So is he now in execution. 
Of any bold or noble enterprise, 
However he puts on this tardy form. 
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, 
Which gives men stomach to digest his words 
With better appetite. 

Bru. And so it is. For this time I will leave 
you: 
To-morrow, if you please to speak with me, 
I will come home to you ; or, if you will, 
Come home to me, and I will wait for you. 

Cas. I will do so : till then, think of the world. 

[Bxit Brutus. 
Well, Brutus, thou art noble ; yet, I see, 

43 "I have an engagement elsewhere." 



Scene II] JULIUS CJHSAR 23 

Thy honourable metal may be wrought 

From that it is dispos'd : 44 therefore it is meet 31 ° 

That noble minds keep ever with their likes ; 

For who so firm that cannot be seduc'd? 

Caesar doth bear me hard ; 45 but he loves Brutus : 

If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius, 

He should not humour me. 4f " I will this night, 

In several hands, 47 in at his windows throw, 

As if they came from several citizens, 

Writings all tending to the great opinion 

That Rome holds of his name ; wherein obscurely 

Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at: 320 

And after this let Caesar seat him sure ; 

For we will shake him, or worse days endure. 48 

[Exit. 

44 "The finest metal is most easily wrought," i. e., The 
open ingenuous mind is the easiest prey of the tempter. 

45 "Cherish a grudge against me." 

46 Influence me. What would this expression mean in 
modern English? 

47 "In different styles of handwriting." 

48 See Outline Study, B, II, e. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT I.— SCENE III— A STREET. 

Note. In this scene (/) the terrors of the thunder storm 
are introduced as a manifestation of divine wrath; (<?) the op- 
position to Ccesar becomes a murderous conspiracy. 
(1). Setting of the Scene. 

In the foreground is a paved street with curbed ,side- 
walk of smaller paving stones. The background is formed by 
the wall of a private house showing a doorway with Corinthian 
pilasters on each side, closed by a heavy panelled oak door 
with a bronze knocker. The walls of the house are of stucco ; 
no windows are^ on the lower floor ; the second story is slightly 
OA^erhanging and is pierced by small windows closed with 
wooden shutters. 

The scene is at first dark; later it is lighted by lightning 
flashes, and, dimly, by the torch of Cicero's servant. 
(2). Actors. 

Casca & Cassius. (ii. 2). 
Cicero (escorted by a slave bearing a torch). 
Cinna, a nobleman and one of the conspirators. 
(3). Costumes. 

Casca and Cicero wear the toga as in i. 1 ; the former 
carries a short, straight, two-edged sword. 

Cinna wears a hooded frieze cloak without sleeves en- 
veloping his whole body. The hood nearly covers his face. 

The slave wears a similar cloak of sheepskin without 
the hood. 

(4.) Time of Action. One month later than i. 2, — about 
midnight of the fourteenth of March. 



Scene III] JULIUS CJBSAR 25 



SCENE III. The Same. A street. 

Thunder and lightning. Enter, from opposite sides, Casca, 
with his szvord drawn, and Cicero. 

Cic. Good even, Casca : brought you Caesar 
home? 
Why are you breathless? and why stare you so? 

Casca. Are not you mov'd, when all the sway 1 
of earth 
Shakes like a thing unfirm? O Cicero, 
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
Have riv'd the knotty oaks, and I have seen 
The ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam, 
To be exalted with the threat'ning clouds : 
But never till to-night, never till now, 
Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 
Either there is a civil strife in heaven, 
Or else the world, too saucy 2 with the gods, 
Incenses them to send destruction. 

Cic. Why, saw you any thing more wonderful ? 

Casca. A common slave — you know him well 
by sight — 
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn 
Like twenty torches join'd, and yet his hand, 
Not sensible of fire, remahrd unscorch'd. 
Besides — I ha' not since put up my sword — 



10 



20 



1 Balance. 

2 Presumptuous. Compare the modern word saucy. 



26 JULIUS CJBSAR [Act I 

Against the Capitol I met a lion/ 20 

Who glar'd upon me, and went surly by, 

Without annoying me : and there were drawn 

Upon a heap 4 a hundred ghastly women, 

Transformed with their fear; who swore they saw 

Men all in fire walk up and down the streets. 

And yesterday the bird of night 5 did sit 

Even at noon-day upon the market-place, 

Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies 

Do so conjointly meet, let not men say 

"These are their reasons ; they are natural ;" 30 

For, I believe, they are portentous things 

Unto the climate that they point upon. 6 

Cic. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time : 
But men may construe things after their fashion, 
Clean from the purpose of the things themselves. 
Comes Caesar to the Capitol 7 to-morrow? 

Casca. He doth ; for he did bid Antonius 

3 The Romans were passionately fond of contests of beasts 
with one another, or of men with beasts. Hence wild beasts 
must have been kept in Rome for this purpose. 

4 "In a group." 

5 The owl. 

6 "I believe that they are signs and omens foretelling dis- 
aster to the region (climate) in which they appear (point 
upon). 

7 As a matter of fact, Caesar did not go to the Capitol on 
the morrow, for the Roman Senate did not ordinarily hold its 
meetings in that place. Caesar was assassinated in "the 
Senate House built by Pompey" (Suetonius, Caesar lxxx) a 
small building adjacent to Pompey's theater in the Campus 
Martius. 

Suggestion. — What superstitions have always been con- 
nected with the owl? 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR 27 

Send word to you he would be there to-morrow. 

Cic. Good night then, Casca : this disturbed sky 39 
I? not to walk in. 

Casca. Farewell, Cicero. [Bxit Cicero. 

Enter Cassius. 

Cas. Who's there? 

Casca. A Roman. 

Cas. Casca, by your voice. 

Casca. Your ear is good. Cassius, what night 
is this ! s 

Cas. A very pleasing night to honest men. 

Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace so ? 

Cas. Those that have known the earth so full 
of faults. 
For my part, I have walk'd about the streets, 
Submitting me unto the perilous night, 
And, thus unbraced, Casca, as you see, 
Have bar'd my bosom to the thunder-stone ; 9 
And when the cross 10 blue lightning seem'd to open 50 
The breast of heaven, I did present myself 
Even in the aim and very flash of it. 

Casca. But wherefore did you so much tempt 
the heavens ? 
It is the part of men to fear and tremble, 
When the most mighty gods by tokens send 

S "What a night this is!" 

9 The ancients believed that a bolt or stone fell from the 
sky at every flash of lightning and was the cause of the ac- 
companying crash of thunder. 

10 "Zigzag." 



11 "Are struck dumb with terror." 

12 Understand the verb .change, expressed in line 66. 

13 Established condition. 

14 Note the composition of the word. 

15 Unnatural condition of affairs. 



60 



28 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

Such dreadful heralds to astonish us. 

Cas. You are dull, Casca, and those sparks of 
. life 
That should be in a Roman you do want, 
Or else you use not. You look pale and gaze 
And put on fear and cast yourself in wonder, 11 
To see the strang'e impatience of the heavens : 
But if you would consider the true cause 
Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts, 
Why birds and beasts from quality and kind, 12 
Why old men fool, and children calculate, 
Why all these things change from their ordi- 



Their natures and preformed 14 faculties 

To monstrous quality, — why, you shall find 

That heaven hath infus'd them with these spirits, 

To make them instruments of fear and warning 

Unto some monstrous state. 15 

Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man 

Most like this dreadful night, 

That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars 

As doth the lion in the Capitol, 

A_ man no mightier than thyself or me 



70 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR 29 

In personal action, yet prodigious 16 grown 
And fearful, as these strange eruptions are. 

Casca. 'T is Caesar that you mean; is it not, 
Cassius ? 

Cas. Let it be who it is: for Romans now 80 

Have thews 17 and limbs like to their ancestors ; 
But, woe the while ! our fathers' minds are dead, 
And we are govern'd with our mothers' spirits ; 
Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. 

Casca. Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow 
Mean to establish Caesar as a king ; 
And he shall wear his crown by sea and land, 
In every place, save here in Italy. 

Cas. I know where I will wear this dagger 
then; 
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius : 
Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong; 
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat: 
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, 
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, 
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit; 
But life, being weary of these worldly bars, 
Never lacks power to dismiss itself. 
If I know this, know all the world besides, 
That part of tyranny that I do bear 
I can shake off at pleasure. [Thunder still. 

16 Portentous. Cf. the modern meaning- of the word. 

17 Muscles. 



30 JULIUS CJBSAR [Act I 

Casca. So can 1 : 10 ° 

So every bondman in his own hand bears 
The power to cancel his captivity. 18 

Cas. And why should Caesar be a tyrant then? 
Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf, 
But that he sees the Romans are but sheep : 
He were no lion, were not Romans hinds. 
Those that with haste will make a mighty fire 
Begin it with weak straws : what trash is Rome, 
What rubbish and what offal, when it serves 
For the base matter to illuminate no 

So vile a thing as Caesar ! But, O grief, 
Where hast thou led me? I perhaps speak this 
Before a willing bondman ; then I know 
My answer must be made. But I am arm'd, 
And dangers are to me indifferent. 

Casca. You speak to Casca, and to such a man 
That is no fleering 19 tell-tale. Hold, my hand: 
Be factious 20 for redress of all these griefs, 
And I will set this foot of mine as far 
As who goes farthest. 



Cas. There's a bargain made 



120 



Now know you, Casca, I have mov'd already 
Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans 
To undergo with me an enterprise 
Of honourable-dangerous consequence; 

18 Comment on the philosophy of lines 91-102. 

19 Sneering. 

20 Zealous. 



Scsns III] JULIUS CmSAR 31 

And I do know, by this they stay for me 21 
In Pompey's porch : 22 for now, this fearful night, 
There is no stir or walking- in the streets ; 
And the complexion of the element 23 
In favour's like the work we have in hand, 
Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. 130 

Casca. Stand close 24 awhile, for here comes one 

in haste. 
Cas. 'T is China; I do know him by his gait; 
He is a friend. Enter Cinna. 

China, where haste you so? 
Cin. To find out you. Who's that? Metellus 

Cimber ? 
Cas. No, it is Casca ; one incorporate 25 
To our attempts. Am I not stay'd for, Cinna? 
Cin. I am glad on 't. What a fearful night is 
this ! 
There's two or three of us have seen strange sights. 
Cas. Am I not stay'd for? tell me. 
Cin. Yes, you are. 

O Cassius, if you could 14 ° 

But win the noble Brutus to our party — 

Cas. Be you content : good Cinna, take this 
paper, 
, And look you lay it in the praetor's chair, 
Where Brutus may but find it ; and throw this 

?1 "By this time they are waiting for me." 

22 See Note 27. 

23 Air. We would say "weather" in this connection. 

24 Concealed. 

25 Associated with. 



32 JULIUS CMSAR [Act I 

In at his window; set this up with wax 
Upon old Brutus' statue : 2G all this done, 
Repair to Pompey's porch, 27 where you shall find 

us. 
Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there? 

Cin. All but Metellus Cimber ; and he's gone 
To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, 150 

And so bestow these papers as you bade me. 

Cas. That done, repair to Pompey's theatre. 27 
Come, Casca, you and I will yet ere day [Bxit Cinna. 
See Brutus at his house : three parts of him 
Is ours already, and the man entire 
Upon the next encounter yields him ours. 

Casca. O, he sits high in all the people's hearts : 
And that which would appear offence in us, 
His countenance, like richest alchemy, 
Will change to virtue and to worthiness. 16 ° 

Cas. Him and his worth and our great need of 
him 
You have right well conceited. 28 Let us go, 
For it is after midnight; and ere day 
We will awake him and be sure of him. [Exeunt. 

26 Lucius Junius Brutus, instigated by whom the Roman 
nobles banished Tarquin, the last* king- of Rome, and took 
oath that they would never again submit to kingly authority. 

27 A covered walk forming a spacious addition to the 
theater built by Pompey in the Campus Martius. 

28 Estimated. 

Suggestion. — Paraphrase lines 157-160. What revelation 
is made by these lines as to the character and reputation of 
Brutus? 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT II— SCENE I.— BRUTUS' ORCHARD. 

Note. Brutus, believing that he must choose between the 
friendship of Ccesar and his duty to his country, is won over 
by the resolute attitude of the conspirators whose purpose has 
been strengthened by the terrors of the storm. 
(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The scene, when lighted by the long, flickering flashes 
of lightning, shows a background formed by the portico of a 
mansion. From this a lawn, with trees, statuary, and well- 
trimmed shrubbery slopes down to the foreground where there 
is a white marble seat overhung by a grape arbor. Standing 
in front of this, Brutus, Portia, and Lucius, in their white gar- 
ments, are distinctly visible ; but the conspirators, in their dark 
cloaks, are but indistinct shapes, except as their faces show 
pallid in the lightning flashes. 
(2). Actors. 

Marcus Brutus, Casca,, Cassius, Dccimus Brutus, 
Cinna, Portia. 

Lucius, the page of Marcus Brutus. 

Metellus Ciuiber, a Roman noble and military officer, 
distinguished in Cesar's service. 

Caius Trebonius, a Roman general, a trusted friend 
and confidant of Caesar. 

Caius Li gar ins, a young nobleman who feels that 
Caesar has unfair 1 y discriminated against him in the matter of 
pardon for taking the side of Pompey in the Civil War. 
(3). Costumes. 

Brutus wears the Roman undress, — the tunic, a white 
woolen garment without sleeves, extending to the knees. A 



34 JULIUS CJESAR [Act II 

wide purple stripe down the front of the tunic denotes sena- 
torial rank. 

Lucius wears a similar tunic without the stripe. 

Portia wears a plain white stola. 

The conspirators all wear heavy, hooded, frieze 
cloaks. 



SCENE I. Rome. Brutus's orchard. 

Enter Brutus. 

Bru. What, Lucius, ho ! 
I cannot by the progress of the stars, 
Give guess how near to day. Lucius, I say ! 
I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. 
When, Lucius, when ? awake, I say ! what, Lucius ! 

Bnter Lucius. 

Luc. Call'd you, my lord? 

Bru. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius: 
When it is lighted, come and call me here. 

Lite. I will, my lord. [Bxit. 

Bru. It must be by his death : and for my part, 10 
I know no personal cause to spurn 1 at him, 
But for the general. 2 He would be crown'd : 
How that might change his nature, there's the 

question. 
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder; 3 

1 To kick at, i. e "To remove with violence from one's 
path." 

2 The general public. 

3 "It is power and exalted position that bring out the 
harmful traits of a man's character." 



20 



Scene I] JULIUS C&SAR 35 

And that craves 4 wary walking - . Crown him? — 

that ;— 
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him, 
That at his will he may do danger with. 
The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins 
Remorse 5 .from power : and, to speak truth of 

Caesar, 
I have not known when his affections sway'd 
More than his reason. But 't is a common proof, 
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 
Whereto the climber upward turns his face ; 
But when he once attains the upmost round, 
He then unto the ladder turns his back, 
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may. 
Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel 
Will bear no colour for the thing he is, 7 
Fashion it thus ; that what he is, augmented, 
Would run to these and these extremities: 
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg 
Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mis- 
chievous, 
And kill him in the shell. 

Re-enter Lucius. 

4 Demands. 

5 Compassion. 

6 Steps. 

7 As things are, the conspirators have no legitimate excuse 
for assassinating Caesar. The deed must be committed on 
the ground that Caesar, should he be made king, would be a 
menace to Roman liberty. 



30 



36 JULIUS CMSAR [Act' II 

Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. 
Searching the window for a flint, I found 
This paper, thus seal'd up ; and, I am sure, 
It did not lie there when I went to bed. 

[Gives him the letter. 

Bru. Get you to bed again ; it is not day. 
Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March? 40 

Luc. I know not, sir. 

Bru. Look in the calendar, and bring me word. 

Luc. I will, sir. IBxit. 

Bru. The exhalations 8 whizzing in the air 
Give so much light that I may read by them. 

[Opens the letter and reads. 

"Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake, and see thyself. 
Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress ! 
Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake!" 



50 



Such instigations have been often dropp'd 
Where I have took 9 them up. 
"Shall Rome, etc." Thus must I piece it out: 
Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, 

Rome? 
My ancestors did from the streets of Rome 
The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king. 10 
"Speak, strike, redress!" Am I entreated 

8 The lightning flashes. 

9 Is this formation of the perfect tense allowable in mod- 
ern English? 

10 See page 32. 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 37 

.» 
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee 

promise j 11 

If the redress will follow, thou receivest 

Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus ! 

Re-enter Lucius. 

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days. 

[Knocking within. 

Bru. 'T is good. Go to the gate; somebody 
knocks. [Exit Lucius. 

Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, 61 

I have not slept. 

Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
And the first motion, 12 all the interim is 
Like a* phantasma, or a hideous dream : 
The Genius 13 and the mortal instruments 14 
Are then in council ; and the state of man, 
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
The nature of an insurrection. 

Re-enter Lucius. 

Luc. Sir, 't is your brother Cassius at the door, 70 
Who doth desire to see you. 

Bru. Is he alone? 



11 "I make thee a promise." What would this sentence, 
as it stands, mean in modern English? 

12 The first thought. 

13 The soul of man; the source of his loftiest thoughts and 
emotions. 

14 The deadly baser passions, such as hatred, jealousy, and 
the like. This passage means simply that there is a struggle 
in the mind of Brutus between his better and his lower na- 
tures. 



38 JULIUS CAESAR [Act II 

Luc. No, sir, there are more with him. 

Bru. Do you know them ? 

Luc. No, sir ; their hats are pluck'd about their 
ears, 
And half their faces buried in their cloaks, 
That by no means I may discover them 
By any mark of favour. 15 

Bru. Let 'em enter. [Exit Lucius. 

They are the faction. O conspiracy, 
Sham'st thou to show thy dang'rous brow by night, 
When evils are most free? O, then by day 
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, con- 
spiracy ; 
Hide it in smiles and affability: 
For if thou path, 16 thy native semblance on, 
Not Erebus 17 itself were dim enough 
To hide thee from prevention. 

Enter the conspirators, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, 
Meteleus Cimber, and TrEbonius. 

Cas. I think we are too bold upon your rest : 
Good morrow, Brutus ; do we trouble you ? 

Bru. I have been up this hour, awake all night. 
Know I these men that come along with you? 



15 Pavour — countenance; mark of favour — features. 

16 Walk abroad. 

17 Erebus was the gloomy cavern underground through 
which the Shades had to walk in their passage to Hades. 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 39 

Cas. Yes, every man of them, and no man here 90 
But honours you ; and every one doth wish 
You had but that opinion of yourself 
Which every noble Roman bears of you. 
This is Trebonius. 

Bru. He is welcome hither. 

Cas. This, Decius Brutus. 

Bru. He is welcome too. 

Cas. This, Casca ; this, Cinna ; and this, Metel- 
lus Cimber. 

Bru. They are all welcome. 
What watchful cares do interpose themselves 
Betwixt your eyes and night? " 

Cas. Shall I entreat a word? 

[Brutus and Cassius whisper. 

Dec. Here lies the east : doth not the day break 
here? 18 

Casca. No. 

Cin. O, pardon, sir, it doth ; and yon gray lines 
That fret the clouds are messengers of day. 

Casca. You shall confess that you are both de- 
ceiv'd. 
Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises, 
Which is a great way growing on the south, 
Weighing the youthful season of the year. 
vSome two months hence up higher toward the 
north 

18 The Conspirators converse thus to show that they are 
not listening to Brutus and Cassius. 



40 JULIUS CZESAR [Act II 

He first presents his fire; and the high east 110 

Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. 

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one. 

Cas. And let us swear our resolution. 

Bru. No, not an oath : if not the face of men, 
The sufferance 19 of our souls, the time's abuse, — 
If these be motives weak, break off betimes, 
And every man hence to his idle bed ; 
So let high-sighted 20 tyranny range on, 
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these, 
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough 120 

To kindle cowards and to steel with valour 
The melting spirit of women, then, countrymen, 
What need we any spur but our own cause, 
To prick us to redress? what other bond 
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word, 
And will not palter ? 21 and what other oath 
Than honesty to honesty engag'd, 
That this shall be, or we will fall for it ? 
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, 22 
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls 13 ° 

That 23 welcome wrongs ; unto bad causes swear 
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain 
The even virtue of our enterprise, 
Nor th' insuppressive mettle of our spirits, 

19 Suffering. 

20 Haughty. 

21 Hesitate. 

22 Treacherous. 

23 As. 



Scene I] JULIUS C7ESAR 41 

To think 24 that or our cause or our performance 25 

Did need an oath ; when every drop of blood 

That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, 

Is guilty of a several bastardy, 

If he do break the smallest particle 

Of any promise that hath pass'd from him. 140 

Cas. But what of Cicero? shall we sound him? 
I think he will stand very strong with us. 

Casca. Let us not leave him out. 

Cin. No, by no means. 

Met. O, let us have him, for his silver hairs 
Will purchase us a good opinion 
And buy men's voices to commend our deeds : 
It shall be said, his judgement ruTd our hands; 
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear, 
But all be buried in his gravity. 

Bru. O, name him not : let us not break with 
him ; 2G 
For he will never follow any thing 
That other men begin. 

Cas. Then leave him out. 

Casca. Indeed he is not fit. 

Dec. Shall no man else be touch'd but only 
Caesar? 

Cas. Decius, well urg'd: I think it is not meet 
Mark Antony, so well belov'd of Caesar, 

24 Our idiom demands Tby thinking*. 

25 What correlatives would be used in modern English? 

26 "Let us not broach the subject to him." Cf. the moder-n 
English, Break the news to anyone. 



149 



42 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

Should outlive Caesar : we shall find of him 

A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means, 

If he improve them, may well stretch so far 

As to annoy us all: which to prevent, 160 

Let Antony and Caesar fall together. 

Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius 
Cassius, 
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs, 
Like wrath in death and envy 27 afterwards; 
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: 
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar ; 
And in the spirit of men there is no blood : 
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit, 
And not dismember Caesar ! 28 But, alas, 170 

Caesar must bleed for it ! And, gentle friends, 
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; 
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods, 
Not hew as a carcass fit for hounds : 
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do, 
Stir up their servants to an act of rage, 
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make 
Our purpose necessary and not envious : 29 

27 Malice. 

Suggestion. — Show the difference in the manner in which 
Casca and Cassius yield to the wishes of Brutus in regard to 
Cicero. 

2S Note the manner in which Brutus justifies his act to 
himself. 

29 Malicious, i. e., "This shall make our deed seem to be 
actuated by necessity, not by malice." 



Scene I] JULIUS CJGSAR 43 

Which so appearing to the common eyes, 

We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers. 30 1S0 

And for Mark Antony, think not of him ; 

For he can do no more than Caesar's arm 

When Caesar's head is off. 

Cas. Yet I fear him ; 

For in the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar — - 

Bni. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him: 
If he love Caesar all that he can do 
Is to himself, take thought 31 and die for Caesar : 
And that were much he should ; 32 for he is given 
To sports, to wildness and much company. 33 

Treb. There is no fear in him ; 34 let him not die 19 ° 
For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter. 

{Clock strikes. 

Bni. Peace ! count the clock. 

Cas. The clock hath stricken three. 35 

Treb. 'Tis time to part. 

Cas. But it is doubtful yet, . 

Whether Caesar will come forth to-day, or no ; 
For he is superstitious grown of late, 
Quite from the main opinion he held once 
Of fantasy, of dreams and ceremonies : 36 
It may be, these apparent prodigies, 

30 See Outline Study note 13. 

31 Grieve. 

32 Show that Brutus underestimated Antony. 

33 See Outline Study note IS. 

31 Nothing to be afraid of in him. 

35 See Outline Study C, III, 12. 

36 Portents. 



210 



44 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

The unaccustom'd terror of this night, 

And the persuasion of his augerers, 37 200 

May hold him from the Capitol to-day. 

Dec. Never fear that : if he be so resolv'd, 
I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear 
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees, 38 
And bears with glasses, 39 elephants with holes, 
Lions with toils 40 and men with flatterers; 
But when I tell him he hates flatterers, 
He says he does, being then most flattered. 
Let me work; 

For I can give his humour the true bent, 
And I will bring him to the Capitol. 

Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch 
him. 

Bru. By the eighth hour: is that the uttermost? 

Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then. 

Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard, 41 
Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey : 
I wonder none of you have thought of him. 



37 See page 53. 

38 "The unicorn and lion are always like cat and dog", and 
as soon as a lion sees his enemy he betakes him to a tree. 
The unicorn, in his blind fury running- pell-mell at his foe, 
drives his horn fast into the tree, and then the lion falls on 
him and devours him." [Historiae Animalium 1551.] 

39 Bears are said to have been captured by means of a 
mirror, which they would stop and gaze into, thus affording 
their pursuers an opportunity to take a surer aim. 

40 Nets. 

41 "Has a grudge against Caesar." 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 45 

Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along by him : 42 
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons ; 
Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him. 43 220 

Cas. The morning comes upon 's : 44 we'll leave 
you, Brutus. 
And, friends, disperse yourselves ; but all remember 
What you have said, and show yourselves true Ro- 
mans. 
Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily; 
Let not our looks put on our purposes, 45 
But bear it as our Roman actors do, 
With untir'd spirits and formal constancy: 
And so good morrow to you every one. 

[Exeunt all but Brutus. 

Boy ! Lucius ! Fast asleep ? It is no matter ; 
Enjoy the honey-heavy 46 dew of slumber: 
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies, 
Which busy care draws in the brains of men: 
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. 

Enter Portia. 

Por. Brutus, my lord ! 

Bru. Portia, what mean you? wherefore rise 
you now? 
It is not for your health thus to commit 
Your weak condition to the raw cold morning. 

42 Go by his house. 

43 Equivalent to the colloquialism, "I'll manage him." 

44 Upon us. 

45 Paraphrase this line. 

46 A word coined by Shakespeare. Heavy sleep is sweet." 



240 



46 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

Por. Nor for yours neither. You 've ungently, 47 
Brutus, 
Stole from my bed : and yesternight, at supper, 
You suddenly arose, and walk'd about, 
Musing and sighing, with your arms across, 
And when I ask'd you what the matter was, 
You star'd upon me with ungentle looks ; 
I urg'd you further ; then you scratch'd your head, 
And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot; 
Yet I insisted ; yet you answer'd not, 
But, with an angry wafture of your hand, 
Gave sign for me to leave you : so I did ; 
Fearing to strengthen that impatience 
Which seem'd too much enkindled, and withal 
Hoping it was but an effect of humour, 
Which sometime hath his hour with every man. 
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep, 
And could it work so much upon your shape 48 
As it hath much prevail'd on your condition, 49 
I should not know. you, Brutus. Dear my lord, 
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief. 

Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all. 

Por. Brutus is wise, and, were he not in health, 
He would embrace the means to come by it. 

Bru. Why, so I do. Good- Portia, go to bed. 



250 



260 



47 This word conveys no idea of roughness, merely of im- 
politeness. 

48 Appearance. 

49 Disposition. 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 47 

Por. Is Brutus sick? and is it physical 50 
To walk unbraced and suck up the humours 
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick, 
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed, 
To dare the vile contagion 51 of the night 
And tempt the rheumy 52 and unpurged air 
To add unto his sickness ? No, my Brutus ; 
You have some sick offence 53 within your mind, 
Which, by the right and virtue of my place, 
I ought to know of : and, upon my knees, 270 

I charm 54 you, by my once-commended beauty, 
By all your vows of love and that great vow 
Which did incorporate and make us one, 
That you unfold to me, yourself, your half, 
Why you are heavy, 55 and what men to-night 
Have had resort to you : for here have been 
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces 
Even from darkness. 

Bru. Kneel not, gentle Portia. 

You are my true and honorable wife, 
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 280 

That visit my sad heart. 

Por. If this were true, then should I know this 
secret. 

50 Wholesome. 

51 Poisonous exhalations. 

52 Damp. 

53 "You are planning some deed which will have unpleas- 
ant consequences. 

54 Conjure. 

55 Oppressed. 



48 JULIUS C2BSAR [Act II 

I grant I am a woman; but withal 

A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife: 

I grant I am a woman; but withal 

A woman well-reputed, Cato's daughter. 56 

Think you I am no stronger than my sex, 

Being so father'd and so husbanded? 

Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em : 

I have made strong proof of my constancy, 

Giving myself a voluntary wound 

Here, in the thigh : can I bear that with patience, 

And not my husband's secrets? 

Bru. O ye gods, 

[Knocking within. 
Render me worthy of this noble wife ! 
Hark, hark ! one knocks : Portia, go in awhile ; 
And by and by thy bosom shall partake 
The secrets of my heart. 

All my engagements 57 I will construe to thee, 
All the charactery 58 of my sad brows : 
Leave me with haste. [Exit Portia.] Lucius, who 's 

. that knocks ? m 

Re-enter Lucius with Ligarius. 

Luc. Here is a sick man that would speak with 
you. 

56 Cato was a Roman patriot who put himself to death 
when he heard that Caesar had triumphed over Pompey. He 
is the type of Roman patriotism, integrity, and virtue. 

Suggestion.-— What impression does Portia make upon the 
reader during this scene? 

57 Affairs. 

58 Marks. The line means, "The meaning of my sadness." 



310 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 49 

Bru. Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of. 
Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius ! how ? 

Lig. Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble 
tongue. 

Bru. O, what a time have you chose out, brave 
Caius, 
To wear a kerchief ! 59 Would you were not sick ! 

Lig. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 
Any exploit worthy the name of honour. 

Bru. Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, 
Had you a healthful ear to hear of it. 

Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 
I here discard my sickness ! Soul of Rome ! 
Brave son, deriv'd from honourable loins ! 
Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up 
My mortified 60 spirit. Now bid me run, 
And I will strive with things impossible ; 
Yea, get the better of them. What 's to do ? 

Bru. A piece of work that will make sick men 
whole. 

Lig. But are not some whole that we must make 
sick? 

Bru. That must we also. What it is, my Caius, 
I shall unfold to thee, as we are going 
To whom it must be done. 



59 "To be ill." It was the custom in Elizabethan England 
for one who was ill to wear a handkerchief on his head. 

60 Dead or insensible. Study the derivation. 



320 



50 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

Lig. Set on your foot, 61 

And with a heart new-fir'd 62 I follow you. 
To do I know not what : but it sufficeth 
That Brutus leads me on. 63 

Bru. Follow me, then. [Exeunt. 



61 The modern idiom is "Go ahead." 

62 Reanimated. 

63 This whole episode is historical, the dialogue being 
taken bodily from Plutarch. 



SCENE-SETTING. 
ACT II.— SCENE II.— CAESAR'S HOUSE. 

Note. In this scene (i) Caesar is induced by the treachery 
of Decimus Brutus to disregard the warnings by means of 
which the gods would have saved his life. (2) The con- 
spirators accept the hospitality of Caesar and surround him 
as friends. 

(1). Setting of the *Scene. 

The atrium or audience hall in Caesar's house, show- 
ing one side and a little less than half the width of the apart- 
ment; ceiling of carved panelled wood; floor of variegated 
marble ; walls frescoed in panels : the larger panels containing 
pictures of scenery and mythological subjects; the smaller 
panels, wreaths and geometric designs. Several doors hung 
with rich drapery open into this room. 



Scene II] JULIUS C2ESAR 51 

(2). Actors. 

With the exception of a servant dressed like Lucius 
in ii.i, and Publius, a senator of the same age and general 
appearance as Cicero, the actors of this scene have all been 
introduced to the reader. 
(3). Costumes. 

Ccesar wears the tunic described in ii.i. 
Calpurnia, the plain white stola. 
The Conspirators wear the toga. 
(4). Time of Action. 

March 15th, 44 B. C. 

SCENE II. Cesar's house. 
Thunder and lightning. Enter Cesar in his night-gown. 

Ccus. Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace 
to-night : 
Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, 
"Help ! ho ! they murder Caesar !" Who 's within ? 
Enter a Servant. 
Serv. My lord? 

Ccus. Go bid the priests do present 1 sacrifice 
And bring me their opinions of success. 

Serv. I will, my lord. [Exit. 

Enter Calpurnia. 
Cat. What mean you, Caesar ? think you to walk 
forth ? 
You shall not stir out of your house to-day. 

Ccus. Caesar shall forth : the things that threat- 
en'd me 10 

1 Immediate. 



52 JULIUS C&SAR [Act II 

Ne'er look'd but on my back ; when they shall see 
The face of Caesar, they are vanished. 

Cal. Caesar, I never stood 2 on ceremonies, 3 
Yet now they fright me. There is one within, 
Besides the things that we have heard and seen, 
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch. 
A lioness hath whelped in the streets; 
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their 

dead ; 
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds, 
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, 
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol; 
The noise of battle hurtled 4 in the air, 
Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan, 
And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets. 
O Caesar ! these things are beyond all use, 5 
And I do fear them. 6 

• C'ces. What can be avoided 

Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods? 
Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions 
Are to the world in general as to Caesar. 

Cal. When beggars die there are no comets 

seen ; 30 

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of 

princes. 7 

2 Attached importance to. 

3 Portents and omens. 

4 To move swiftly with a clashing sound. 

5 All ordinary occurrences. 

6 See Outline B, II, g. 

7 Paraphrase. 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 53 

Ccos. Cowards die many times before their 
deaths ; 
The valiant never taste of death but once. 
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 
It seems to me most strange that men should fear; 
Seeing that death, a necessary end, 
Will come when it will come. 8 

Re-enter Servant. 

What say the augurers? 9 

Serv. They would not have you to stir forth 
to-day : 
Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, 
They could not find a heart within the beast. *° 

Cces. The gods do this in shame of cowardice : 
Caesar should be a beast without a heart, 
If he should stay at home to-day for fear. 
No, Caesar shall not: danger knows full well 
That Caesar is more dangerous than he : 
We are two lions litter'd in one day, 
And I the elder and more terrible: 
And Caesar shall go forth. 

Cal. Alas, my lord, 



8 Learn this passage. Paraphrase. 

9 Augury, or the art of foretelling the future by the ob- 
servation of natural signs, was believed by the Romans to 
be an exact science. The examination of the entrails of the 
animals offered as sacrifice to the gods was an important 
branch of this art. In general, any departure from the nor- 
mal in the condition of these organs was regarded as an evil 
portent for the person offering the sacrifice. 



54 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 



50 



Your wisdom is consum'd in confidence. 

Do not go forth to-day : call it my fear 

That keeps you in the house, and not your own. 

We '11 send Mark Antony to the senate-house ; 

And he shall say you are not well to-day: 

Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this. 

C(bs. Mark Antony shall say I am not well; 
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home. 

Enter Decius. 
Here 's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so. 

Dec. Caesar, all hail ! good morrow, worthy 
Caesar : 
I corne to fetch you to the senate-house. 

Cces. And you are come in very happy time, 60 

To bear my greetings to the senators 
And tell them that I will not come to-day: 
Cannot is false, and that" I dare not, falser: 
I will not come to-day : tell them so, Decius. 

Cal. Say he is sick. 

Cces. Shall Caesar send a lie? 

Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far, 
To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth? 
Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come. 

Dec. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some 
cause, 
Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so. 70 

Ccbs. The cause is in my will : I will not come ; 
That is enough to satisfy the senate. 
But for your private satisfaction, 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 55 



.10 



Because I love you, I will let you know : 
Catpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home 
She dreamt to-night she saw my statua, 11 
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts, 
Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans 
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it : 
And these does she apply for warnings, and por- 
tents, 12 80 
And evils imminent ; and on her knee 
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day. 

Dec. This dream is all amiss interpreted; 
It was a vision fair and fortunate : 
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, 
In which so many smiling Romans bath'd, 
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck 
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press 
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance. 13 
This by Calpurnia's dream is signified. 90 

Cces. And this way have you well expounded it. 

Dec. I have, when you have heard what I can 
say: 
And know it now: the senate have concluded 
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. 14 

10 Keeps me at home. 

11 Statue. 

12 Accent on the last syllable. 

13 Token. 

14 Not to make Caesar a king over the Roman people as 
was implied by the crown proffered him by Antony, but to 
give him the power of king over the foreign subjects of the 
Roman people. 



56 JULIUS C&SAR [Act II 

If you shall send them word you will not come, 

Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock 

Apt to be render'd, 15 for some one to say 

Break up the senate till another time, 

When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams. 

If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper 10 ° 

Lo, Caesar is afraid? 

Pardon me, Caesar ; for my dear dear love 

To your proceeding bids me tell you this ; 16 

And reason to my love is liable. 17 

Cces. How foolish do your fears seem now, Cal- 
purnia ! 
I am ashamed I did yield to them. 
Give me my robe, for I will go. 

Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca, 
Trebonius, and Cinna. 18 

And look where Publius is come to fetch me. 

Pub. Good morrow, Caesar. . 

Cces. Welcome, Publius. 

What, Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too? uo 



15 "It will be easy for people to say jeeringly." 

16 "I know my urging- has gone beyond the bounds of 
politeness, but my zeal for your advancement (proceeding 1 ) 
will not permit me to weigh my words calmly." Decimus 
Brutus had always been a faithful follower of Caesar and 
was supposed to have no interests not connected with his 
service. 

17 Subordinate. 

18 In the brief scene that follows, we see the Caesar of his- 
tory and tradition. The courtesy and graciousness of his 
greeting throw into strong relief the treachery of the con- 
spirators. 



Scene II] JUNIUS C2ESAR 57 

Good morrow, Casca. Cains Ljgarius, 
Caesar was ne'er so much your enemy 
As that same ague which hath made you lean. 
What is 't o'clock? 

Brii. Caesar, 't is strucken eight. 

Cess. I thank you for your pains and courtesy. 
Enter Antony. 

See ! Antony, that revels long o' nights, 
Is notwithstanding up. Good morrow, Antony. 
Ant. So to most noble Caesar. 
Ccusar. Bid them prepare within : 

I am to blame to be thus waited for. 
Now, Cinna : now, Metellus : what, Trebonius ! 12 ° 
I have an hour's talk in store for you; 
Remember that you call on me to-day : 
Be near me, that I may remember you. 

Treb. Caesar, I will : [Aside] and so near will 
I be, 
That your best friends shall wish I had been 
further. 
Cccs. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine 
with me; 
And we, like friends, 19 will straightway go to- 
gether. 
Bru. [Aside] That every like is not the same, 
O Caesar, 
The heart of Brutus yearns 20 to think upon ! [Exeunt. 

19 "Like friends, but not friends." 

20 Grieves. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT II— SCENE III.— A STREET NEAR THE 

CAPITOL. 

Note. Lest the friendly and convivial attitude of the con- 
spirators in scene ii. should deceive the audience, as it has 
deceived Caesar, the names of the men who are plotting 
murder are read over by Artemidorus. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. Cf. i.i. 

Numbers of toga-clad citizens are about the street. 
The portico on the left is the front of a law court, hence 
pleaders and advocates are conversing and Greek slaves clad 
in scanty tunics and bearing rolls of parchment are awaiting 
the coming of the praetor to open the session of court. Down 
the wide street in the background, a sedan chair with cur- 
tains drawn is borne along by tall slaves in red tunics ; half 
naked porters pass with heavy burdens from the market, etc., 
etc. All are intent on business of their own and give no 
attention to Artemidorus, the Greek teacher of Rhetoric, who, 
with eyes fixed on the scroll before him, reads in an under- 
tone. 

(2). Actors. 

Artemidorus, "A doctor of Rhetorick in the Greeke 
tongue." — Plutarch. 

(3). Costumes. 

Artemidorus is a tall, middle-aged man of distin- 
guished bearing. For distinction, he may be supposed to 
wear, instead of the toga, the Greek Himation, which was a 
garment longer and narrower than the toga and, consequently, 
fitted more closely about the body and more completely cov- 
ered the lower limbs; his feet are protected by heavy sandals. 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR 59 

He reads from a papyrus roll which is unwound from a round 
stick of reed, the ends of which are ornamented with ivory 
knobs. 

(4). Time of Action. 

Immediately after ii.2. 



SCENE III. A street near the Capitol 

Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper. 
Art. Ccesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius; 
come not near Casca; have an eye to China; trust not 
Trebonius; mark well Metellus Cimber: Decius Brutus 
loves thee not: thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. There 
is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against 
Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you: se- 
curity gives zvay to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend 
thee! Thy lover} Artemidorus. 



10 



Here will I stand till Caesar pass along, 

And as a suitor will I give. him this. 

My heart laments that virtue cannot live 

Out of the teeth of emulation. 2 

If you read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live ; 

If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive. 3 [Exit. 

1 Friend. 

2 The modern idiom would be "In the teeth of emulation." — 
(malicious rivalry). 

3 Conspire. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT II— SCENE IV.— A STREET BEFORE THE 
HOUSE OF BRUTUS. 

Note. The intention of this scene is to inspire the audi- 
ence with a nervous apprehension of something terrible about 
to happen. Its effect depends on good acting; for the mere 
reading of the lines conveys little of the significance of the 
scene. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. 

A street in front of the mansion of Brutus — a house 
front similar to that described in ii.i. The house door is 
open and Portia stands in the doorway ; Lucius is on .the side- 
walk in front, along which the soothsayer passes. 
(2). Actors. 
Portia. 
Lucius. 

The Soothsayer, (called Spurinna by Plutarch). 
(3). Costumes. 

Portia wears the stola of the Roman matron. 
Litems, a white woolen tunic. (Cf. ii.i). 

SCENE IV. Another part of the same street, before the 

house of Brutus. 

Enter Portia and Lucius. 

Por. I prithee, boy, run to the senate-house ; 
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone : 
Why dost thou stay? 

Luc. To know my errand, madam. 

Por. I would have had thee there, and here 
again, 



Scene IV] JULIUS CMSAR 61 

Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there. 

constancy, be strong upon my side, 

vSet a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue ! 

1 have a man's mind, but a woman's might. 
How hard it is for women to keep counsel I 1 
Art thou here yet? 

Luc. Madam, what should I do? 10 

Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? 
And so return to you, and nothing else? 

Por. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look 
well. 
For he went sickly forth : and take good note 
What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him. 
Hark, boy! what noise is that? 

Luc. I hear none, madam. 

Por. Prithee, listen well ; 

I heard a bustling rumour, 2 like a fray, 
And the wind brings it from the Capitol. 

Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. 20 

Enter the Soothsayer. 

Por. Come hither, fellow : which way hast thou 
been ? 

Sooth. At mine own house, good lady. 

Por. What is 't o'clock? 

Sooth. About the ninth hour,"' lady. 

1 Brutus has evidently disclosed the purpose of the con- 
spiracy to Portia. 

2 A vague, indistinct sound. 

3 Reckoning in English fashion from midnight. The 
Romans themselves reckoned from sunrise. 



62 JULIUS C2BSAR [Act II 

Por. Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol ? 

Sooth. Madam, not yet : I go to take my stand, 
To see him pass on to the Capitol. 

Por. Thou hast some suit to Caesar, hast thou 
not? 

Sooth. That I have, lady: if it will please 
Caesar 
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, 
I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 30 

Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended 
towards him? 

Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I 
fear may chance. 
Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow : 
The throng that follows Caesar at the heels, 
Of senators, of praetors, 4 common suitors, 
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: 
I'll get me to a place more void, and there 
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along. [Exit. 

Por. I must go in. Ay me, how weak a thing 
The heart of woman is! O Brutus, 40 

The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise ! 
[To herself.] Sure, the boy heard me: 5 [To Lu- 
cius] Brutus hath a suit 
That Caesar will not grant. O, I grow faint ! 

4 Magistrates. 

5 Fearing- that she has said too much, she hastens to give 
an innocent turn to her remark. 



Scene IV] JULIUS C&SAR 63 

Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord; 

Say I am merry: come to me again, 

And bring- me word what he doth say to thee. 

[Exeunt severally. 



SCENE-SETTING. 
ACT III.— SCENE I.— "ROME BEFORE THE CAPITOL." 

Note. In this scene we have (1) the death of Caesar; 
(2) the emergence of Antony as his avenger. 

(1). Setting of the Scene. 

The dramatist's idea of the Capitol was evidently 
that of an imposing building fronting a public square, elevated 
above the pavement and approached by a grand marble stair- 
way. At the top of the stairway is the Senate Chamber 
which must be represented, for our purpose, as open to full 
view, — a spacious hall with flat panelled ceiling supported by 
Corinthian pillars and adorned with statues, among which 
that of Pompey is conspicuous. Chairs for the senators are 
arranged along the walls. In the rear of the room is a plat- 
form elevated one step above the floor. On this platform are 
two elaborately carved ivory chairs under a purple canopy. 
In one of these chairs Caesar seats himself. 

As Caesar enters the members of the senate rise, but 
reseat themselves immediately; Antony and Trebonius do 
not enter the Senate Chamber, but after ascending the steps 
pass off at the left of the stage. As soon as Caesar is seated, 
Cimber presents his suit and the conspirators crowd around; 
Publius and other older senators keep their seats. 



64 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

(2). Actors. 

The only actors in this scene who have not appeared 
before are : 

Popilius Lena, a senator, similar in age and general 
appearance to Cicero and Publius. , 

Marcus Mmilius Lepidus, a Roman general and for- 
mer consul. 

(3). Costumes. 

Each senator wears the toga appropriate to his rank. 
The dress and bearing of the conspirators form the sharpest 
contrast to the appearance of the same men in ii.i. Their 
daggers are carefully concealed in the folds -of the toga. 

Note. After the murder, Caesar's body is supposed to lie 
where it fell, in a pool of blood, during the remainder of the 
scene. 

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting 

above. 

A crowd of people; among them Artemidorus and the Sooth- 
sayer. Flourish. Enter Cesar, Brutus, Cassius, Casca, 
Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, Antony, Lepidus, 
Popilius, Publius, and others. 

Cces. [To the Soothsayer.] The ides of March 

are come. 
Sooth. Ay, Caesar; but not gone. 
Art. Hail, Caesar ! read this schedule. 
Dee. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read, 
At your best leisure, this his humble suit. 

Art. O Caesar, read mine first; for mine 's a 

suit 
That touches Caesar nearer: read it, great Caesar. 
Cces. What touches us ourself shall be last 

serv'd. 



Scsns I] JULIUS CMSAR 65 

Art. Delay not, Caesar; read it instantly. 
Cccs. What, is the fellow mad? 
Pub. Sirrah, give place. 

Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the 
street ? 
Come to the Capitol. 12 

[C^sar goes up to the Senate House, 1 the rest following. 
Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive. 
Cas. What enterprise, 2 Popilius? 
Pop. Fare you well. 

[Advances to Ccesar. 
Bru. What said Popilius Lena? 
Cas. He wish'd to-day our enterprise might 
thrive. 
I fear our purpose is discovered. 

Bru. Look, how he makes 3 to Caesar : mark 

him. 
Cas. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. 
Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, 20 
Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, 
For I will slay myself. 

Bru. Cassius, be constant: 4 

Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes ; 

1 See page 63. 

2 This "knowing" remark of the senator racks the over- 
strained nerves of the conspirators and consternation seizes 
tnem when Popilius engages Caesar in private conversation. 
The success of the conspirators depended on keeping Caesar 
absolutely free from suspicion of their designs. 

3 Draws near to. 

4 Firm. 



66 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act III 

For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not change. 
Cas. Trebonius knows his time; for, look you, 
Brutus, 
He draws Mark Antony out of the way. 

[Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. 
Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go, 
And presently prefer his suit to Caesar. 

Bru. He is address'd : 3 press near and second 

him. 
Cin. Casca, you are the first that rears your 

hand. 
Casca. Are we all ready? 

Cas. What is now amiss 

That Caesar and his senate must redress? 32 

Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puis- 
sant Caesar, 
Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat 
An humble heart, — [Kneeling. 

Cas. I must prevent thee, Cimber. 

These couchings 6 and these lowly courtesies 
Might fire the blood of ordinary men, 
And turn pre-ordinance and first decree 
Into the law of children. Be not fond, 7 
To think that Caesar bears such rebel blood 40 

That will be thaw'd from the true quality 
With that which melteth fools ; I mean, sweet 
words, 

5 Ready. 

6 Courtesies or low bows. 

7 "Be not foolish enough to think." 



10 



50 



Scene I] JULIUS C7ESAR 67 

Low-crooked court'sies and base spaniel-fawning. 

Thy brother by decree is banished : 

If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him, 

I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. 

Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without cause 

Will he be satisfied. 

Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my 
own, 
To sound more sweetly in great Caesar's ear 
For the repealing of my banish'd brother? 

Brit. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar ; 
Desiring thee that Publius Cimber may 
Have an immediate freedom of repeal. 8 

Ccus. What, Brutus! 

Cas. Pardon, Caesar ; Caesar, pardon : 

As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall, 
To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber. 

Ccus. I could be well mov'd, if I were as you : 
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me : 
But I am constant as the northern star, 
Of whose true-fix'd and resting 9 quality 
There is no fellow in the firmament. 
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks, 
They are all fire and every one cloth shine ; 
But there 's but one in all doth hold his place : 
So in the world : 't is furnish'd well with men, 
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive ; 



60 



8 Recall from banishment. 

9 Steadfast. 

10 Intelligent. "What is the modern meaning of the word? 



68 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

Yet in the number I do know but one 

That unassailable holds on his rank, 

Unshak'd of motion : and that I am he, 70 

Let me a little show it, even in this ; 

That I was constant 11 Cimber should be banish'd, 

And constant do remain to keep him so. 

Cin. O Caesar, — 

Cces. Hence ! wilt thou lift up Olympus ? 

Dec. Great Caesar, — 12 

Cces. Do not, Brutus, bootless 13 kneel. 

Casca. Speak, hands, for me ! 
[Casca stabs Ccesar in the neck. Ccesar catches hold of his 

arm. He is then stabbed by several other Conspirators, and 

at last by Marcus Brutus. 

Cces. Bt tu, Brute! 1 * Then fall, Caesar! 

[Dies. The Senators and People retire in confusion. 

Cin. Liberty ! Freedom ! Tyranny is dead ! 
Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 

Cas. Some to the common pulpits, 15 and cry 
out 80 

" Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement ! " 

Bru. People and senators, be not affrighted ; 
Fly not ; stand still : ambition's debt is paid. 

11 Firm. 

12 Decimus Brutus kneels as he says this. 

13 In vain. 

14 The origin of the tradition that these were the dying 
words of Caesar is not known. Plutarch mentions no dying 
speech. Suetonius says a tradition was current in his time 
that Caesar cried to Brutus in Greek, "And thou art one of 
them, thou, my son!" 

15 A stone platform for the use of orators. 



90 



Scene I] JULIUS C&SAR 69 

Casca. Go to the pulpit, Brutus. 
Dec. And Cassius too. 

Bru. Where 's Publius? 

Cin. Here, quite confounded with this mutiny, 10 
J\let. Stand fast together, lest some friend of 
Caesar's 
Should chance — 

Bru. Talk not of standing. 17 Publius, good 
cheer ; 
There is no harm intended to your person, 
Nor to no Roman else : so tell them, Publius. 
Cas. And leave us, Publius; lest that the 
people, 
Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief. 

Bru. Do so : and let no man abide this deed, 18 
But we the doers. 

Re-enter TrEbonius.. 

Cas. Where is Antony? 

Treb. Fled to his house amaz'd : 19 
Men, wives and children stare, cry out and run 
As it were doomsday. 

Bru. Fates, we will know your pleasures : 

That we shall die, we know ; 't is but the time 
And drawing days out, that men stand upon. 20 



100 



16 See Outline Study note 11. 

17 "This is not a revolution; we have simply removed one 
man who stood between Rome and freedom." 

.18 Feel responsibility for. 

19 Confounded. 

20 See page 52. 



110 



7 o JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

Cas. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life 
Cuts off so many years of fearing death. 

Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit : 
So are we Caesar's friends, that have abridg'd 
His time of fearing death. Stoop, Romans, stoop, 
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood 
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords: 
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place, 
And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads, 
Let 's all cry Peace, freedom and liberty! 

Cas. Stoop, then, and wash. How many ages 
hence 
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over 
In states unborn and accents yet unknown! 

Bru. How many times shall Caesar bleed in 
sport, 
That now on Pompey's basis 21 lies along 
No worthier than the dust! 

Cas. So oft as that shall be, 

So often shall the knot of us be call'd 
The men that gave their country liberty. 

Dec. What, shall we forth? 

Cas. Ay, every man away: 22 

21 Pedestal. 

22 After the murder in Pompey's Senate House, the con- 
spirators took refuge in the Capitol which they garrisoned 
with their followers. Lepidus, acting in concert with An- 
tony, occupied the Forum with a force of soldiers. This 
treaty between the conspirators on the one side and Antony 
and L.epidus on the other was made on the day after the 
murder. 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 71 

Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heels 120 

With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome. 
Enter a Servant. 

Brn. Soft! who comes here? A friend of An- 
tony's. 

Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me 
kneel ; 
Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down; 
And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say : 
Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest; 
Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving: 
Say I love Brutus, and I honour him; 
Say I fear'd Caesar honour d him and lov'd him. 
If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony 13 ° 

May safely come to him, and be resolv'd 23 
How Caesar hath deserv'd to lie in death, 
Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead 
So well as Brutus living; but will follow 
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus 
Thorough 24 the hazards of this untrod state 
With all true faith. So says my master Antony. 

Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman ; 
I never thought him worse. 

Tell him, so please him come unto this place, 140 

He shall be satisfied; and, by my honour, 
Depart untouch'd. 

Serv. I'll fetch him presently. [Exit. 

23 Convinced. 

24 Through. 



72 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act III 

Bru. I know that we shall have him well to 
friend. 

Cas. I wish we may: but yet have I a mind 
That fears him much ; and my misgiving still 25 
Falls shrewdly 26 to the purpose. 27 

Bru. But here comes Antony. 
Re-enter Antony. 

Welcome, Mark Antony. 

Ant. O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? 
Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 
Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well. 150 
I know not, gentlemen, what you intend, 
Who else must be let blood, 28 who else is rank : 29 
If I myself, there is no hour so fit 
As Caesar's death hour, nor no instrument 
Of half that worth as those your swords, made rich 
With the most noble blood of all this world. 
I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard, 
Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and 

smoke, 
Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years, 
I shall not find myself so apt 30 to die : 16 ° 

No place will please me so, no mean of death, 
As here by Caesar, and by you cut off, 

25 Always. 

26 Unpleasantly. 

27 "My misgivings are alwaj^s well-grounded." 

28 Slain. 

29 Grown so high as to be dangerous. 
.30 Ready. 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 73 

The choice and master spirits of this age. 

Bru. O Antony, beg not your death of us. 
Though now we must appear bloody and cruel, 
As, by our hands and this our present act, 
You see we do, yet see you but our hands 
And this the bleeding business they have done : 
Our hearts you see not ; they are pitiful ; 
And pity to the general wrong of Rome — 
As fire drives out fire, so pity pity — 
Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part, 
To you our swords have leaden points, Mark An- 
tony : 0>1 
Our arms, in strength of malice, and our hearts 

Of brothers' temper, do receive you in 
With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence. 
Cas. Your voice shall be as strong as any man's 

In the disposing of new dignities. 

Bru. Only be patient till we have appeas'd 

The multitude, beside themselves with fear, 

And then we will deliver you the cause, 

Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him, 

Have thus proceeded. 

Ant. I doubt not of your wisdom. 

Let each man render me his bloody hand : 

First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you; 

Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand ; 

Now, Decius Brutus, yours ; now yours, Metellus ; 32 

31 Paraphrase. 

32 See Outline Study note 14. 



180 



190 



200 



74 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

Yours, Cinna; and, my valiant Casca, yours; 
Though last, not least in love, yours, good Tre- 

bonius. 
Gentlemen all, — alas, what shall I say ? 
My credit now stands on such slippery ground, 
That one of two -bad ways you must conceit me, 33 
Either a coward or a flatterer. 
That I did love thee, Csesar, O, "t is true : 
If then thy spirit look upon us now, 
Shall it not grieve thee dearer than thy death, 
To see thy Antony making his peace, 
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes, 
Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ? 
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds, 
Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood, 
It would become me better than to close 
In terms of friendship with thine enemies. 
Pardon me, Julius ! Here wast thou bay'd, brave 

hart; 34 
Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand, 
Sign'd in thy spoil, 35 and crimson'd in thy lethe. 36 
O world, thou wast the forest to this hart ; 
And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee. 
How like a deer, strucken by many princes, 
Dost thou here lie ! 21 ° 

Cas. Mark Antony,— 

33 Conceive of me. 

34 Explain the metaphor. . 

35 Bearing- the marks of their bloody work. 

36 Blood. 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 75 

Ant. Pardon me, Caius Cassius : 

The enemies of Caesar shall say this ; 
Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. 37 

Cas. I blame yon not for praising Caesar so ; 
But what compact mean yon to have with us? 
Will you be prick'd in number of our friends ; 
Or shall we on, and not depend on you ? 

Ant. Therefore I took your hands, but was, 
indeed, 
vSway'd from the point, by looking down on Caesar. 
Friends am I with you all and love you all, 22 ° 

Upon this hope, that you' shall give me reasons 
Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. 

Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle: 
Our reasons are so full of good regard 
That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, 
You should be satisfied. 

Ant. That's all I seek : 

And am moreover suitor that I may 
Produce his body in the market-place ; 
And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend, 
Speak in the order 38 of his funeral. 230 

Bru. You shall, Mark Antony. 

Cas. Brutus, a word with you. 

[Aside to Bru.] You know not what you do: do 

not consent 
That Antony speak in his funeral : 39 

37 Moderation. 

38 Course. 

39 See Outline Study note 18 



76 JULIUS C&SAR [Act III 

Know you how much the people may be mov'd 
By that which he will utter? 

Bru. By your pardon; 

I will myself into the pulpit first, 
And show the reason of our Caesar's death : 
What Antony shall speak, I will protest 
He speaks by leave and by permission, 
And that we are contented Caesar shall 240 

Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies. 
It shall advantage more than do us wrong. 

Cas. I know not what may fall ; I like it not. 

Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar's 
body. 
You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, 
But speak all good you can devise of Caesar, 
And say you do 't by our permission; 
Else shall you not have any hand at all 
About his funeral: and you shall speak 
In the same pulpit whereto I am going, 250 

After my speech is ended. 

Ant. Be it so; 

I do desire no more. 

Bru. Prepare the body then, and follow us. 

[Exeunt all but Antony. 

Ant. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of 
earth, 
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! 
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 
That ever lived in the tide of times. 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 77 

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood ! 

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, — 

Which, like dumb mouths, do. ope their ruby lips, 26 ° 

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue — 

A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ; 

Domestic fury and fierce civil strife 

Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 

Blood and destruction shall be so in use 

And dreadful objects so familiar 

That mothers shall but smile when they behold 

Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war; 

All pity chok'd with custom of fell deeds : 

And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, 40 27 ° 

With Ate 41 by his side come hot from hell, 

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice 

Cry " Havoc," 42 and let slip the dogs of war ; 43 

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth 

With carrion men, groaning for burial. 

Enter a Servant. 
You serve Octavius Caesar, 44 do you not? 

Serv. I do, Mark Antony. 

Ant. Caesar did write for him to come to Rome. 

Serv. He did receive his letters, and is coming; 
And bid me say to you by word of mouth — 28 ° 

O Caesar ! — [Seeing the body. 

40 See Outline Study note 15. 

41 Goddess of vengeance and mischief. 

42 A military cry signifying - general massacre without 
quarter. 

43 See Outline C, II, 1, h. 

44 See page 82. 



78 JULIUS C&SAR [Act III 

Ant. Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep. 
Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes. 
Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine, 
Began to water. Is thy master coming? 

Serv. He lies to-night within seven leagues of 
Rome. 

Ant. Post back with speed, and tell him what 
hath chanc'd : 45 
Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, 
No Rome of safety for Octavius 46 yet; 
Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile; 
Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corse 
Into the market-place : there shall I try, 
In my oration, how the people take 
The cruel issue of these bloody men; 
According to the which, thou shalt discourse 
To young Octavius of the state of things. 
Lend me your hand. 47 [Exeunt with Cesar's body. 

45 Paraphrase. 

46 Octavius Caesar (Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus) was 
the grand nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, and was 
a youth of nineteen at the time of Caesar's death. He had 
to be taken into political account owing to the influence of 
the name of Caesar with the soldiers. He developed great 
ability as a general and statesman and ultimately made 
himself master of the Roman state, ruling as the Emperor 
Augustus. At the time of Caesar's death he was away at 
school and did not arrive in Rome until several weeks after 
the event. 

47 Comment on the skill with which Antony plays his part 
during* this scene. 



SCENE-SETTING. 
ACT III.— SCENE II.— THE FORUM. 

Note, (i) This scene exhibits the great triumph of An- 
tony over Brutus in the contest for popular approval. (2) 
The conspirators are driven from Rome amid the execrations 
of the populace. 

(1). Setting of the Scene. 

In the foreground is the much renowned stone pave- 
ment of the Forum. A wooden railing with gates forms a 
quadrangular space, at the left end of which is the stone 
"pulpit" or orator's platform. Behind the railing on all 
sides are wooden seats, raised one above the other like the 
seats in an amphitheatre. Behind these seats, in the back- 
ground, is a row of shops with windows tightly closed with 
wooden shutters. 

At the opening of the scene, both the seats and the 
space inside the railing are filled with an excited mob. At 
the exit of Cassius (line 10), part of this crowd follows him, 
while those who remain seat themselves, with much bustle 
and confusion, on the wooden benches. The body of Caesar 
is borne in on an elaborately carved bier, carried on the 
shoulders of six old soldiers. The bier is fitted with legs 
of ivory and is covered with purple and gold cloth. As 
Antony mounts the pulpit, the bier is set down in front of it 
and the mourners stand on either side, while the citizens are 
seated in silence on the benches. At line 162, the citizens, in 
their excitement, begin to leave the benches and crowd inside 
the railing. At line 174, Antony exhibits the well known 
purple toga, rent and blood-stained, which has been concealed 
among the coverings of the bier. At line 200, Antony moves 
as if to remove the coverings from the body, but does not 



8o JULIUS C2ESAR [Act III 

do so. The citizens clamorously demand the privilege of 
burning the body as their own dead; the soldier bearers lift 
the bier to their shoulders and carry it away, followed by the 
crowd who tear down railing and benches for materials for 
the pyre. 

(2). Actors. 

The speaking actors in this scene have all been 
introduced. 

(3). Costumes. 

The bearers are in military costume, — a tunic reach- 
ing to the knee ; corselet of leather studded with brass knobs ; 
helmet of leather with brass ornaments ; legs encased in strips 
of leather. 

The mourners wear black garments; the women are 
without jewels and have their hair dishevelled. 
(4). Time of Action. 

Seven days after iii.i. 

SCENE II. The Forum. 

Enter Brutus and Cassius, and a throng of Citizens. 

Citizens. We will be satisfied ; let us be satisfied. 

Bru. Then follow me, and give me audience, 
friends. 
Cassius, go you into the other street, 
And part the numbers. 

Those that will hear me speak, let 'em stay here; 
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him; 
And public reason shall be rend'red 
Of Caesar's death. 

First Cit. I will hear Brutus speak. 

Sec. Cit. I will hear' Cassius ; and compare their 
reasons, 



Scene II] JULIUS CJBSAR 81 

When severally we hear them rend'red. 10 

[Exit Cassias, with some of the Citizens. Brutus goes into 

the pulpit. 1 

Third Cit. The noble Brutus is ascended : 
silence ! 

Bru. Be patient till the last. 
Romans, countrymen, and lovers ! 2 hear me for my 
cause, and be silent, that you may hear : believe me 
for mine honour, and have respect to mine, honour, 
that you may believe : censure 3 me in your wisdom, 
and awake your senses, that you may the better 
judge. If there be any in this assembly, any dear 
friend of Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to 
Caesar was no less than his. If then that friend 
demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my 
answer : — Not that I lov'd Caesar less, but that I 
lov'd Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were 
living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were 
dead, to live all free men? As Caesar lov'd me, I 
weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; 
as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was 
ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love ; 
joy for his fortune ; honour for his valour ; and 
death for his ambition. Who is here so base that 
would be a bondman ? If any, speak ; for him have 
T offended. Who is here so rude that would not be 
?. Roman? If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 

1 See page 68. 

2 Friends. 

3 "Judge me wisely." 



82 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

Who is here so vile that will not love his country? 
If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause 
for a reply. 35 

All. None, Brutus, none. 

Bru. Then none have I offended. I have done 
no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The 
question of his death is enroll'd in the Capitol f his 
glory not extenuated, 5 wherein he was worthy, nor 
his offences enforc'd, 6 for which he suffered death. 41 

Enter Antony and others, with Oesar's body. 
Here comes his body, mourn'd by Mark Antony: 
who, though he had no hand in his death, shall 
receive the benefit of his dying, a place in the com- 
monwealth; as which of you shall not? With this 
I depart, — that, as I slew my best lover for the 
good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, 
when it shall please my country to need my death. 7 

All. Live, Brutus ! live, live ! 

First Cit. Bring him with triumph home unto 
his house. 

Sec. Cit. Give him a statue with his ancestors. 

Third Cit. Let him be Caesar. 8 
. Fourth Cit. Caesar's better parts 

Shall be crown'd in Brutus. 

4 The record of the official inquest. 

5 [Lessened. 

6 Magnified. 

7 See Outline Study note 10. 

S The name of Caesar was used as a title by succeeding 
rulers of the Roman State. It still survives in the German 
kaiser. 



50 



Scene II] JULIUS C2ESAR 83 

First Cit. We'll bring him to his house 

With shouts and clamours. 

Bru. My countrymen, — 

Sec. Cit. Peace, silence ! Brutus speaks. 

First Cit. Peace, ho ! 

Bru. Good countrymen, let me depart alone, 
And, for my sake, stay here with Antony: 
Do grace to Caesar's corpse, and grace his speech 
Tending to Caesar's glories ; which Mark Antony, 
By our permission, is allow'd to make. 60 

J do entreat you, not a man depart, 
Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. [Exit. 

First Cit. Stay, ho ! and let us hear Mark An- 
tony. 

Third Cit. Let him go up into the public chair ; 
We'll hear him. Noble Antony, go up. 

Ant. For Brutus' sake, I am beholding 9 to you. 

[Goes into the pulpit. 

Fourth Cit. What does he say of Brutus? 

Third Cit. He says, for Brutus' sake, 

He finds himself beholding to us all. 

Fourth Cit. 'T were best he speak no harm of 
Brutus here. 

First Cit. This Caesar was a tyrant. 

Third Cit. Nay, that's certain : 

We are blest that Rome is rid of him. 71 



9 Correct modern usage would be beholden. "By favor of 
Brutus, I have the honor of addressing you." 



84 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

Sec. Cit. Peace ! let us hear what Antony can 
say. 

Ant. You gentle Romans, — , 

Citizens. Peace, ho ! let us hear him. 

Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me 
your ears ; 
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 
The evil that men do lives after them ; 
The good is oft interred with their bones ; 
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus 
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious : 10 
If it were so, it was a grievous fault, 80 

And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. 
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest — 
For Brutus is an honourable 11 man; 
So are they all, all honourable men — 
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. 
He was my friend, faithful and just to me : 
But Brutus says he was ambitious; 
And Brutus is an honourable man. 
He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: 
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: 

10 Shakespeare uses the word ambition in the exact sense 
of the Latin word from which it is derived. It means here, 
"An unlawful striving for posts of honor." Modern usage 
has greatly modified this meaning. 

11 "A man whom we must honor." This adjective as 
Shakespeare uses it does not imply an especially exalted per- 
sonal character. 



Scene II] JULIUS CJESAR 85 

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And Brutus is an honourable man. 

You all did see that on the Lupercal 

I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And, sure, he is an honourable man. 10 ° 

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, 

But here I am to speak what I do know. 

You all did love him once, not without cause : 

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him ? 

judgement ! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me ; 
My heart is in the coffin there with Csesar, 
And I must pause till it come back to me. 

First Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his 

sayings. 
Sec. Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter u0 
C?esar has had great wrong. 

Third Cit. Has he, masters? 

1 fear there will a worse come in his place. 
Fourth Cit. Mark'd ye his words? He would 

not take the crown; 
Therefore 't is certain he was not ambitious. 
First Cit. If it be found so, some will dear 
abide it 12 

12 The modern idiom is "Would pay for it dearly." 



86 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act III 

Sec. Cit. Poor soul ! his eyes are red as fire 

with weeping. 
Third Cit. There 's not a nobler man in Rome 

than Antony. 
Fourth Cit. Now mark him, he begins again to 

speak. 
Ant. But yesterday 13 the word of Caesar might 
Have stood against the world; now lies he there, 12 ° 
And none so poor to do him reverence. 

masters, if I were dispos'd to stir 

Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 

1 should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 
Who, you all know, are honourable men: 

I will not do them wrong; I rather choose 

To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, 

Than I will wrong such honourable men. 

But here 's a parchment with the seal of Caesar; 

I found it in his closet, 't is his will : 130 

Let but the commons hear this testament — 

Which, pardon me, 14 I do not mean to read — 

And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds 

And dip their napkins in his sacred blood, 

Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, 

And, dying, mention it within their wills, 

Bequeathing it as a rich legacy 

Unto their issue. 

13 Antony now sees that he has won his audience and as- 
sumes a bolder tone. 

14 Antony's agreement with Brutus and Cassius allowed 
him only to deliver a funeral oration. 



Scene II] JULIUS C/ESAR 87 

Fourth Cit. We '11 hear the will : read it, Mark 

Antony. 139 

All. The will, the will ! we will hear Caesar's 

will. 
Ant. Have patience, gentle friends, I must not 
read it; 
It is not meet you know how Caesar lov'd you. 
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men; 
And, being men, hearing- the will of Caesar, 
It will inflame you, it will make you mad : 
'T is good you know not that you are his heirs; 
For, if you should, O, what would come of it ! 
Fourth Cit. Read the will; we '11 hear it, An- 
tony ; 
You shall read us the will, Caesar's will. 149 

Ant. Will you be patient? will you stay awhile? 
I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it : 
I fear I wrong the honourable men 
Whose daggers have stabb'd Caesar; I do fear.it. 
Fourth Cit. They were traitors : honourable 

men ! 15 
All. The will ! the testament ! 
Sec. Cit. They were villains, murderers : the 

will ! read the will. 
Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the 
will? 
Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar, 

15 Note the ethical standard of the mob. If Caesar was 
the people's friend, it was wrong to kill him. 



88 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

And let me show you him that made the will. 16 ° 

Shall I descend? and will you give me leave? 10 

Several Cit. Come down. 

See. Cit. Descend. 

Third Cit. You shall have leave. 

[Antony comes down. 

Fourth Cit. A ring; stand round. 

First Cit. Stand from the hearse/ 7 stand from 
the body. 

Sec. Cit. Room for Antony, most noble An- 
tony. 

Ant. Nay, press not so upon me ; stand far off. 

Several Cit. Stand back ; room ; bear back. 

Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them 
now. 
You all do know this mantle : I remember 171 

The first time ever Caesar put it on ; 
'T was on a summer's evening, in his tent, 
That day he overcame the Nervii : 18 
Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through: 
See what a rent the envious Casca made : 
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd; 
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away, 
Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it, 
As rushing out of doors, to be resolv'd 18 ° 

If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no; 
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel : 19 

16 To violate the compact with Brutus. 17 Bier. 

18 In Northern Gaul fourteen years before this. 

19 Caesar loved him as his divine guardian spirit in bodily 
form. 



Scene II] JULIUS C&SAR 89 

Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar lov'd him : 
This was the most unkindest cut of all; 
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, 
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, 
Quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty 

heart : 
And, in his mantle muffling up his face, 
liven at the base of Pompey's statua, 
Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. 190 
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen ! 
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down. 
Whilst bloody treason flourished over us. 
O, now you weep ; and, I perceive, you feel 
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops. 
Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold 
Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here, 
Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors." 

First Cit. O piteous spectacle ! 

Sec. Cit. O noble Caesar ! 200 

Third Cit. O woful day ! 

Fourth Cit. O traitors, villains ! 

First Cit. O most bloody sight ! 

Sec. Cit. We will be reveng'd. 

All. Revenge ! About ! Seek ! Burn ! Fire ! Kill ! 
Slay! 
Let not a traitor live ! 

A nt. Stay, countrymen. 

20 See Outline Study note 10. 



po JULIUS CJESAR [Act III 

First Cit. Peace there ! hear the noble Antony. 

Sec. Cit. We '11 hear him, we '11 follow him, 
we '11 die with him. 

Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not 
stir you up 21 ° 

To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 
They that have done this deed are honourable : 
What private griefs 21 they have, alas, I know not, 
That made them do it : they are wise and honour- 
able, 
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts : 
I am no orator, 22 as Brutus is ; 
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, 
That love my friend ; and that they know full well 23 
That gave me public leave to speak of him : 22 ° 

For I have neither wit, 24 nor words, nor worth, 
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, 
To stir men's blood : I only speak right on ; 
I tell you that which you yourselves do know ; 
Show you sweet Csesar's wounds, poor poor dumb 

mouths, 
And bid them speak for me : but were I Brutus, 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 

21 Intimating that the patriotic professions of the con- 
spirators covered an act of private vengeance. 

22 "I am not an orator by profession, as Brutus is." 

23 Antony intimates that the permission to speak was 
granted him in contempt of his abilities. 

24 Intelligence. 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 91 

Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue 
In every wound of Caesar that should move 
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. 25 230 

All. We '11 mutiny. 

First Cit. We '11 burn the house of Brutus. 
Third Cit. Away, then! come, seek the con- 
spirators. 
Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me 

speak. 
All, Peace, ho! Hear Antony. Most noble 

Antony ! 
Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not 
what : 
Wherein hath Caesar thus deserv'd your loves ? 
Alas, you know not : I must tell you, then : 
You have forgot the will I told you of. 

All. Most true. The will! Let 's stay and 

hear the will. 240 

Ant. Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal 
To every Roman citizen he gives, 
To every several man, seventy-five drachmas. 26 
Sec. Cit. Most noble Caesar! We '11 revenge 

his death. 
Third Cit. O royal Caesar! 
Ant. Hear me with patience. 

25 See Outline Study note 10. 

26 Plutarch, who wrote in Greek, states that the sum was 
seventy -.five drachmas; Suetonius, a Roman, says three hun- 
dred sesterces. The value of each citizen's legacy would be 
about twelve dollars of our money. 



92 JULIUS CMSAR [Act III 

All Peace, ho! 

Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, 
His private arbours and new-planted orchards, 
On this side Tiber; he hath left them you, 250 

And to your heirs forever, common pleasures, 
To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. 
Here was a Caesar! when comes such another? 

First Cit. Never, never. Come, away, away ! 
We '11 burn his body 27 in the holy place, 
And with the brands fire the traitors' houses. 
Take up the body. 

Sec. Cit. Go fetch fire. 

Third Cit. Pluck down benches. 

Fourth Cit. Pluck down forms, windows, any 
thing. 

[Exeunt Citizens with the body. 

Ant. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, 261 
Take thou what course thou wilt ! 

Enter a Servant. 

How now, fellow ! 

Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. 

Ant. Where is he? 

Serv. He and Lepidus are at Caesar's house. 

Ant. And thither will I straight to visit him: 
He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry, 2S 

27 This was the duty of the heirs of the deceased. The 
people at first proposed to erect the funeral pyre in the Tem- 
ple of Jupiter in the Capitol, but the body was finally burned 
in the Forum. 

28 Here Antonj'- shows the true gambler's spirit. "Let us 
play heavily while luck is with us." 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 93 

And in this mood will give us- anything. 

Serv. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius 270 

Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome. 

Ant. Belike they had some notice of the people, 
How I had mov'd them. Bring me to Octavius. 

[Exeunt. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT III.— SCENE III.— A STREET. 

Note. The value of this scene depends upon its acting. Its 
intention is to show the frenzied feeling of the populace 
against Caesar's murderers. 
(1). Setting of the Scene. 

The street corner of i.i. The scene is dimly lighted, 
as in early evening. The street is filled with a crowd of 
excited citizens; some carry torches and firebrands; others, 
axes and crowbars. Hands and faces are stained with smoke 
and soot; clothing is dishevelled and torn. Cinna at first 
treats the challenge of the crowd as a rough joke; but is 
thrown down and dragged off the stage, struggling. 
(2). Actors. 

Cains Cinna, a Poet. 
A Crowd of Citizens. 

SCENE III. A street. 

Enter Cinna the poet. 
Cin. I dreamt 1 to-night that I did feast with 
Caesar, 

1 This episode is related by Plutarch as an instance of the 
power of dreams over human life. 



94 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act III 

And things unluckily charge my fantasy: 
I have no will to wander forth of doors, 
Yet something leads me forth. 

Enter Citizens. 

First Cit. What is your name? 

Sec. Cit. Whither are you going? 

Third Cit. Where do you dwell? 

Fourth Cit. Are you a married man or a bach- 
elor? 

Sec. Cit. Answer every man directly. 

First Cit. Ay, and briefly. 10 

Fourth Cit. Ay, and wisely. 

Third Cit. Ay, and truly, you were best. 

Cin. What is my name ? Whither am I going ? 
Where do I dwell? Am I a married man or a 
bachelor? Then, to answer every man directly and 
briefly, wisely and truly : wisely 2 I say, I am a 
bachelor. 

Sec. Cit. That 's as much as to say, they are 
fools that marry : you '11 bear me a bang 3 for that, 
I fear. Proceed; directly. 

Cin. Directly, I am going to Caesar's funeral. 

First Cit. As a friend or an enemy? 

Cin. As a friend. 

Sec. Cit. That matter is answered directly. 

Fourth Cit. For your dwelling, — 'briefly. 

Cin. Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol. 

1 2 "That is the wisest remark I can make." 
3 "You will get a blow for that from me-" 



20 



Scene III] " JULIUS CJESAR 95 

Third Cit. Your name, sir, truly. 

Cin. Truly, my name is Cinna. 

First Cit. Tear him to pieces; he 's a conspir- 
ator. 

Cin. I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. 

Fourth Cit. Tear him for his bad verses, tear 
him for his bad verses. 31 

Cin. I am not Cinna the conspirator. 

Fourth Cit. It is no matter, his name 's Cinna; 
pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him 
going. 

Third Cit. Tear him, tear him ! Come, brands, 
ho ! fire-brands : to Brutus', to Cassius' ; burn all : 
some to Deems' house, and some to Casca's ; some 
to Ligarius' : away, go ! [Exeunt. 



SCENE-SETTING. 
ACT IV.— SCENE I.— A HOUSE IN ROME. 

Note. The historical necessity for introducing Lepidus and 
Octavius is responsible for this scene. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The tablinum or business office of a Roman mansion, 
a room of medium size opening off a hall like that shown in 
ii. 2. At each end of the room is a bookcase showing books, — 
heavy rolls in red, yellow, and purple covers. In the center 
«af the floor is a large round table whose top,, a sheet of 



9 6 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act IV 

polished bronze, rests on three heavy legs which are elabo- 
rately carved. On this table is a decorated metal cylinder 
containing papyrus rolls, and a similar roll lies on the table, 
partly unfolded. There is also a double cylindrical inkstand, 
with several pens of split reed lying near ; and a number of 
wax-coated wooden tablets, with metal styles for writing on 
them. Around this table, the actors are seated each in a 
heavy armchair. 
(2). Actors. 

Antony ~\ 

Lepidus > Triumvirs after the death of Caesar. 

Octavius Caesar. ) 
Octavius is a short, slender youth of nineteen years, with 
a dark complexion, lustrous black eyes, and curly light brown 
hair. 

(3). Costume. 

The men are in black togas as mourning for Caesar. 
(4). Time of the Action. (Study Note 12). 

Shakespeare does not observe the historical lapse of 
time between the two acts. The dramatic situation requires 
that the exhibition of the triumph of Antony over the con- 
spirators should follow immediately his funeral oration. The 
allusion to the will in line 8 shows that this scene is to be 
regarded as enacted a few days only after iii. 2. 



SCENE I. A house in Rome. 

Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, seated at a table. 1 
Ant. These many, then, shall die; their names 
are prick'd. 

1 See Outline Study note 12. 



Scens I] JULIUS C2BSAR 



97 



Oct. Your brother too must die; 2 consent you, 
L,epidus ? 

Lep. I do consent, — 

Oct. Prick him down, Antony. 

Lep. Upon condition Publius 3 shall not live, 
Who is your sister's son, Mark Antony. 

Ant. He shall not live ; look, . with a spot I 
damn him. 
But, Lepidus, go you to Caesar's house; 
Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine 
How to cut off some charge in legacies. 

Lep. What, shall I find you here? 10 

Oct. Or here, or at the Capitol. [Exit Lepidus. 

Ant. This is a slight unmeritable man, 
Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit, 
The three-fold world divided, he should stand 
One of the three to share it ? 

Oct. So you thought him ; 

And took his voice who should be prick'd to die, 
In our black sentence and proscription. 

Ant. Octavius, I have seen more days than 
you : 

2 In this proscription Octavius demanded the life of 
Paulus Lepidus, one of the conspirators, and Antony, the life 
of Cicero, his personal enemy. Paulus was the brother of 
Lepidus and Octavius was under great obligations to Cicero. 
After delicate negotiation, it was decided that Paulus 
Lepidus and Cicero should both die; and, as compensation, 
that Antony should sacrifice his uncle. 

3 If historical accuracy were of any importance in this 
connection, for Publius we should read Iiucius Caesar, and 
for " sister's son " read " mother's brother." 



98 JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 



20 



30 



And though we lay these honours on this man, 
To ease ourselves of divers sland'rous loads, 
He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold, 
To groan and sweat under the business, 
Either led or driven, as we point the way; 
And having brought our treasure where we will, 
Then take we down his load, and turn him off, 
Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears, 
And graze in commons. 4 

Oct. You may do your will; 

But he 's a tried and valiant soldier. 

Ant. So is my horse, Octavius; and for that 
I do appoint him store of provender: 
It is a creature that I teach to fight, 
To wind 5 to stop, to run directly on, 
His corporal motion govern'd by my spirit. 
And, in some taste, is Lepidus but so; 
He must be taught and train'd and bid go forth ; 
A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds 
On abjects, 6 orts 7 and imitations, 
Which, out of use and stal'd 8 by other men, 
Begin his fashion : do not talk of him, 
But as a property. And now, Octavius, 
Listen great things : 9 — Brutus and Cassius 

4 Lepidus managed to descend safely from his perilous 
height of power, and ended his days in opulent obscurity. 

5 Turn. 

6 Things thrown away. 

7 Refuse. 

8 Made common. 

9 Express this in the modern English idiom. 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 99 

Are levying powers : we must straight make head : 

Therefore let our alliance be combhrd, 

Our best friends made, our means stretch'd ; 10 

And let us presently go sit in council, 

How covert matters may be best disclos'd, 

And open perils surest answered. 

Oct. Let us do so : for we are at the stake, 11 
And bay'd about with many enemies; 
And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear, 
Millions of mischiefs. [Exeunt. 



10 Scan this line. 

11 i. e., Like baited bears. 



50 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT IV.— SCENE II.— CAMP NEAR SARDIS : BEFORE 
BRUTUS' TENT. 

Note. In this scene, Brutus and Cassius, broken in health 
and reputation, their ideals and hopes shattered, are intro- 
duced as rival revolutionary soldiers. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The tent of Brutus (not differing essentially from a 
modern officer's tent) occupies the right front of the stage. 
In front of it is a square mound of turf with a flat top,— the 
camp altar. From the altar to the left runs a camp street 
lined with soldiers' tents which are cloth-covered, peak-roofed 
huts, gable end to the street. Behind the altar and extending 



ioo JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 

to the rear of the stage is a cross street, also lined with 
soldiers' tents. Brutus and Lucius emerge from Brutus' tent 
and the soldiers fall into line in the cross street, except three 
sentries on guard in front of the line of tents on the main 
street. Up this street comes Lucilius, escorting Titinius and 
Pindarus. He leaves the stage and reappears later escorting 
Cassius who is leading his troops in line. The three sentries 
challenge the strangers, but allow them to pass, on recognizing 
their own officer. 
(2). Actors. 

Brutus & Cassius, older and more careworn than in 
previous scenes. 

Lucius (i. 2) ; Lucilius, an officer of Brutus' army. 

Pindarus, servant of Cassius ; Titinius, an officer of 
Cassius' army. 
(3). Costumes. 

Brutus & Cassius wear the costume of a Roman com- 
manding officer, — a corselet of embossed metal hanging from 
the shoulders and fitting tightly about the body above the 
hips ; a leather fringe hangs from the lower edge of the metal 
nearly to the knees ; below this, the edge of the tunic shows. 
The legs are bare below the knee, the soles of the feet being 
protected by sandals bound about the ankle. A* short red 
cloak, fastened on the left shoulder with a gold brooch, hangs 
over the right shoulder and the back. A short, straight sword 
in a decorated scabbard hangs on the right side from an em- 
bossed metal belt. 

The Soldiers wear corselets made of strips of leather 
and leather helmets with brass trimmings but without crests. 
Each soldier wears on his left arm a shield of leather with 
metal trimmings and ornaments which protects his body from 
shoulders to hips ; in his right hand he holds a spear ; and at 
his right side, a short, straight sword hangs from a leather 
belt. 



Scene II] JULIUS C2ESAR 101 

(4). Time of Action. 

A little more than two years after the death of Caesar ; 
and about six months after the proscription (iv. 1). 



SCENE II. Camp near Sard is. 1 Before Brutus' tent. 

Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Lucius, and Soldiers; 
Titinius and Pindarus meeting them. 

Bru. Stand, ho! 

Lucil. Give the word, ho ! and stand. 

Bru. What now, Lucilius! is Cassius near? 

Lucil. He is at hand; and Pindarus is come 
To do you salutation from his master. 

Bru. He greets me well. Your master, Pin- 
darus, 
In his own change, or by ill officers, 
Hath given me some worthy cause to wish 
Things done, undone : but, if he be at hand, 
I shall be satisfied. 

Pin. I do not doubt 10 

But that my noble master will appear 
Such as he is, full of regard and honour. 

Bru. He is not doubted. A word, Lucilius; 
How he received you, let me be resolved. 2 

Lucil. With courtesy and with respect enough ; 
But not with such familiar instances, 
Nor with such free and friendly conference, 

1 In Asia Minor, once the capital of the great Lydian 
monarchy; at this time a Roman provincial town. 

2 Informed. 



102 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act IV 

As he hath used of old. 

Bru. Thou hast described 

A hot friend cooling-: ever note, Lucilius, 
When love begins to sicken and decay, 20 

It useth an enforced ceremony. 
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith; 
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand, 3 
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle: 
But when they should endure the bloody spur, 4 
They fall 5 their crests, and, like deceitful jades, 
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on? 

Lucil. They mean this night in Sardis to be 
quarter'd ; 
The greater part, the horse in general, 
Are come with Cassius. 6 

Bru. Hark ! he is arriv'd. 

[Lozu march within. 
March gently on to meet him. 31 

Enter Cassius and his powers. 

Cas. Stand, ho! 

Bru. Stand, ho ! Speak the word along. 

First Sol. Stand! 

Sec. Sol. Stand! 

Third Sol. Stand ! 

3 Chafing at the tightening of the bit, i. e., Difficult to 
manage. 

4 Be urged to their utmost capacity. 

5 Change to the modern idiom. 

6 The greater part of Cassius' army remains in Sardis, but 
Cassius. himself with his cavalry has come to Brutus! camp. 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 103 

Cas. Most noble brother, you have done me 
wrong. 

Bru. Judge me, you gods ! wrong I mine en- 
emies ? 
And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? 

Cas. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides 
wrongs ; 
And when you do them — 

Bru, Cassius, be content; 41 

Speak your griefs softly: I do know you well. 7 
Before the eyes of both our armies here, 
Which should perceive nothing but love from us, 
Let us not wrangle : bid them move away ; 
Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge 8 your griefs, 9 
And I will give you audience. 

Cas. Pindarus, 

Bid our commanders lead their charges off 
A little from this ground. 

Bru. Lucilius, do you the like ; and let no man ^ 
Come to our tent till we have done our conference. 
Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. [Exeunt. 

7 i. e., "I know what a violent temper you have." 

8 To state at large. What preposition does the modern 
idiom demand in this connection? 

9 Grievances. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT IV.— SCENE III— THE INTERIOR OF BRUTUS' 

TENT. 

Note, (i) The interview between Brutus and Cassius 
reveals the purely human side of their characters ; it revives 
their old friendship; and reanimates them with the idea that 
they are still fighting in their country's cause. (2) The ghost 
of Caesar implies to Brutus that the life of the latter must be 
forfeited for the murder of his friend. 
(1). Setting of the Scene. 

In the interior is shown a small apartment separated 
from the main tent by partly drawn curtains revealing a 
couch. Rich hangings form the walls. In the center is a 
camp table with camp chairs about it, not differing essentially 
from modern furniture of the same nature. 
(2). Actors. 

Brutus & Cassius. 

Marcus Favonius, a Poet. — An old man with long, 
thin, gray beard and hair, and a wild and haggard expression. 

Lucilius, Titinius, Varro, & Claudius, Young officers. 

Messala, an older officer. 

Lucius, the personal attendant of Brutus. 

The Ghost of Ccesar. See page 122. 
(3). Costumes. See iv. 2. 

SCENE HI. Brutus' tent. 

Enter Brutus and Cassius. 
Cas. That you have wrong'd me doth appear in 
this : 



10 



Scene III] JULIUS CJHSAR 105 

You have condemn'd and noted 1 Lncins Pella 
For taking bribes here of the Sardians ; 
Wherein my letter, praying - on his side, 
Because I knew the man, was slighted off. 

Bru. You wrong'd yourself to write in such a 
case. 

Cas. In such a time as this it is not meet 
That every nice 2 offence should bear his comment. 

Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm ; 3 
To sell and mart your offices for gold 
To undeservers. 

Cas. I an itching palm ! 

You know that you are Brutus that speak this, 
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. 

Bru. The name of Cassius honours this cor- 
ruption, 
And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. 

Cas. Chastisement ! 

Bru. Remember March, the ides of March 
remember : 
Did not great Julius bleed for justice's sake? 
What villain touched his body, that did stab, 
And not for justice? What, shall one of us, 
That struck the foremost man of all this world 



1 Branded. 

2 Petty. 

3 A love for money. 



20 



io6 JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 

But for supporting robbers, 4 shall we now 
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, 
And sell the mighty space of our large honours 
For so much trash as may be grasped thus? 
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
Than such a Roman. 

Cas. Brutus, bay not me ; 

I J ll not endure it: you forget yourself, 
To hedge me in; 5 I am a soldier, I, 
Older in practice, abler than yourself 
To make conditions. 

Bru. Go to; you are not, Cassius. 

Cas. I am. 

Bru. I say you are not. 

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself; 
Have mind upon your health, tempt me no farther. 

Bru. Away, slight man ! 

Cas. Is 't possible? 

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak. 

Must I give way and room to your rash choler? 
Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? 40 

Cas. O ye gods, ye gods ! must I endure all 
this? 

Bru. All this! ay, more: fret till your proud 
heart break; 

4 "But Brutus bade him remember the ides of March, the 
day when they killed Caesar, who himself neither plundered 
nor pillaged mankind, but was only the support and strength 
of those who did." — Plutarch. 

5 "To tell me what I may and may not do." 



50 



Scene III] JULIUS CJBSAR 107 

Go show your slaves how choleric you are, 
And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge ? G 
Must I observe you? 7 must I stand and crouch 
Under your testy humour? By the gods, 
You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 
Though it do split you ; for, from this day forth, 
T '11 use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter, 
When you are waspish. 

Cas. Is it come to this? 

Bru. You say you are a better soldier : 
Let it appear so; make your vaunting true, 
And it shall please me well : for mine own part, 
I shall be glad to learn of noble men. 

Cas. You wrong me every way ; you wrong 
me, Brutus; 
I said, an elder soldier, not a better : 
Did I say " better " ? 

Bru. If you did, I care not. 

Cas. When Caesar* liv'd, he 8 durst not thus have 
mov'd me. 

Bru. Peace, peace ! you durst not so have 
tempted him. 

Cas. I durst not ! 

Bru. No. 

Cas. What, durst not tempt him ! 

6 Start. 

7 Treat with deference. 

8 To whom does the pronoun refer? 

9 Provoked. 



60 



70 



108 JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 

Bru. For your life you durst not. 

Cas. Do not presume too much upon my love; 
I may do that I shall be sorry for. 

Bru. You have done that you should be sorry 
for. 
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, 
For I am arm'd so strong in honesty 
That they pass by me as the idle wind, 
Which I respect not. I did send to you 
For certain sums of gold, which you denied me: 
For I can raise no money by vile means : 10 
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, 
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
By any indirection i 11 I did send 
To you for gold to pay my legions, 
Which you denied me : was that done like Cassius ? 
Should I have answer'd Caius Cassius so? 
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
To lock such rascal counters 12 from his friends, 
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts; 
Dash him to pieces ! 

Cas. I denied you not. 

Bru. You did. 

Cas. I did not : he was but a fool that brought 

10 It would seem that Brutus had no scruples against bor- 
rowing- money from those who could raise it by "vile means." 

11 Unfair action. 

12 Paltry coins. 



80 



Scene III] JULIUS C2ESAR 109 

My answer back. Brutus hath riv'd my heart: 
A friend should bear his friend's infirmities, 
But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 

Bru. I do not, till you practise them on me. 

Cas. You love me not. 

Bru. I do not like your faults. 

Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. 90 

Bru. A flatterer's would not, though they do 
appear 
As huge as high Olympus. 13 

Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, 
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 
For Cassius is aweary of the world ; 
Hated by one he loves; brav'd by his brother; 
Check'd like a bondman; all his faults observ'd, 
Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote, 
To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep 
My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger, 10 ° 
And here my naked breast; within, a heart 
Dearer than Plutus' 14 mine, richer than gold : 
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth; 
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart: 
Strike, as thou didst at Csesar; for, I know, • 
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him 
better 

13 Olympus is a mountain in Greece, the cloud-concealed 
summit of which was supposed to have been the abode of the 
gods. 

14 The god of riches. 



no JULIUS C2ESAR [Act IV 

Than ever thou lovedst Cassius. 

Bru. Sheathe your dagger: 

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope; 
Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. 15 
O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb y 110 

That carries anger as the flint bears fire ; 
Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark, 
And straight is cold again. 

Cas. Hath Cassius liv'd 

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 
When grief, and blood ill-temper'd, vexeth him? 

Bru. When I spoke that, I was ill-temper'd too. 

Cas. Do you confess so much? Give me your 
hand. 

Bru. And my heart too. 

Cas. O Brutus! 

Bru. What 's the matter? 

Cas. Have not you love enough to bear with 
me, 
"When that rash humour which my mother gave me 120 
Makes me forgetful? 

Bru. Yes, Cassius; and, from henceforth, 

When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, 
He '11 think your mother chides, and leave you so. 

Poet. [Within.] Let me go in to see the gen- 
erals ; 
There is some grudge between 'em, 't is not meet 
They be alone. 

15 Caprice. 



Scene III] JULIUS C2ESAR m 

Lucil. [Within.] You shall not come to them. 
Poet. [Within.] Nothing- but death shall stay 
me. 
Enter Poet, 16 followed by Lucilius, Titinius, and Lucius. 
Cas. How now! what 's the matter? 
Poet. For shame, you generals! what do you 
mean ? 
Love, and be friends, as two such men should be ; 131 
For I have seen more years, I 'm sure, than ye. 
Cas. Ha, ha ! how vilely doth this cynic rhyme ! 
Bru. Get you hence, sirrah; saucy fellow, 

hence ! 
Cas. Bear with him, Brutus; 't is his fashion. 
Bru. I .'U know his humour, when he knows 
his time : 
What should the wars do with these jigging 17 

fools ? 
Companion, 18 hence ! 

Cas. Away, away, be gone! 

[Exit Poet. 

Bru. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders 
Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. 

Cas. And come yourselves, and bring Messala 
with you 
Immediately to us. [Exeunt Lucilius and Titinius. 

16 Plutarch says merely that Favonius quoted a line from 
Homer's Iliad. The second line of the couplet in the text is 
a paraphrase of this. 

17 In allusion to the rhyme. 
IS Fellow. 



ii2 JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 

Bru. Lucius, a bowl of wine! 

[Exit Lucius. 
Cas. I did not think you could have been so 

angry. 
Bru. O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. 
Cas. Of your philosophy you make no use. 
If you give place to accidental evils. 

Bru. No man bears sorrow better. Portia is 

dead. 
Cas. Ha ! Portia ! 
Bru. She is dead. 

Cas. How 'scap'd I killing when I cross'd you 
so? 
O insupportable and touching loss ! 151 

Upon what sickness? 

Bru. Impatient of my absence, 

And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony 
Have made themselves so strong : — for with her 

death 
That tidings came; — with this she fell distract, 
And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire. 19 
Cas. And died so? 
Bru. Even so. 

Cas. O ye immortal gods ! 

Re-enter Lucius, with wine and taper. 
Bru. Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl 
of wine. 
In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. 

19 In the form of burning charcoal, as Plutarch says. 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR 113 

Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge. 16 ° 
Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup; 
I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. 

Bru. Come in, Titinius ! [Exit Lucius. 

Re-enter Titinius with Messala. 

Welcome, good Messala. 
Now sit we close about this taper here, 
And call in question our necessities. 

Cas. Portia, art thou gone? 20 

Bru. No more, I pray you. 

Messala, I have here received letters, 
That young Octavius and Mark Antony 
Come down upon us with a mighty power, 
Bending their expedition toward Philippi. 17 ° 

Mes. Myself have letters of the self-same 
tenour. 

Bru. With what addition? 

Mes. That by proscription and bills of out- 
lawry, 
Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, 
Have put to death an hundred senators. 

Bru. Therein our letters do not well agree ; 
Mine speak of seventy senators that died 
By their proscriptions, Cicero being one. 

Cas. Cicero one ! 

Mes. Cicero is dead, 

And by that order of proscription. ls0 

20 This must be understood as a remark "aside," not over- 
heard by Messala. 



ii4 JULIUS CJESAR [Act IV 

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord? 

Bru. No, Messala. 

Mes. Nor nothing in your letters writ of her? 

Bru. Nothing, Messala. 

Mes. That, methinks, is strange. 

Bru. Why ask you? hear you aught of her in 
yours ? 

Mes. No, my lord. 

Bru. Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true. 

Mes. Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell. 
For certain she is dead, and by strange manner. 189 

Bru. Why, farewell, Portia. We must die, 
Messala: 
With meditating that she must die once, 
I have the patience to endure it now. 

Mes. Even so great men great losses should 
endure. 

Cas. I have as much of this in art 21 as you, 
But yet my nature could not bear it so. 

Bru. Well, to our work alive. What do you 
think 
Of marching to Philippi presently? 

Cas. I do not think it good. 

Bru. Your reason? 

Cas. This it is : 

'T is better that the enemy seek us : 

21 "I, too, have learned such philosophy theoretically (in 
art) in the schools; but I am not sufficiently master of my- 
self to practice it." 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR H5 

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, 20 ° 
Doing himself offence; 22 whilst we, lying still, 
Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness. 

Bru. Good reasons must, of force, give place 
to better. 
The people 'twixt Philippi and this ground 
Do stand but in a forc'd affection ; 
For they have grudg'd us contribution: 
The enemy, marching along by them, 
By them shall make a fuller number up, 
Come on refresh'd, new-added, and encourag'd ; 
From which advantage shall we cut him off, 
If at Philippi we do face him there, 
These people at our back. 

Cas. Hear me, good brother. 

Bru. Under your pardon. You must note 
beside, 
That we have tried the utmost of our friends, 
Our legions are brim- full, our cause is ripe: 
The enemy increaseth every day; 
We, at the height, are ready to decline. 
There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune : 
Omitted, all the voyage of their life 
Is bound in shallows and in miseries. 23 
On such a full sea are we now afloat; 
And we must take the current when it serves, 

22 "Doing himself harm." 

23 Learn and paraphrase. 



n6 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act IV 

Or lose our ventures. 

Cas. Then, with your will, go on ; 24 

We '11 along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi. 25 

Bru. The deep of night is crept upon our talk, 
And nature must obey necessity; 
Which we will niggard 26 with a little rest. 
There is no more to say? 

Cas. No more. Good night: 

Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence. 230 

Bru. Lucius ! [Enter Lucius.] My gown. [Exit 
Lucius.] Farewell, good Messala : 
Good night, Titinius. Noble, noble Cassius, 
Good night, and good repose. 

Cas. O my dear brother! 

This was an ill beginning of the night : 
Never come such division 'tween our souls ! 
Eet it not, Brutus. 

Bru. Every thing is well. 

Cas. Good night, my lord. 

Bru. Good night, good brother. 

Tit. Mes. Good night, Lord Brutus. 

Bru. Farewell, every one. 

[Exeunt all but Brutus. 
Re-enter Lucius, with the gown. 
Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument ? 

Luc. Here in the tent. 

24 See Outline Study note 18. 

25 The meeting of the two 1 armies at Philippi was purely- 
accidental. 

26 Supply sparingly. 



Scene III] JULIUS C2ESAR 117 

Bru. What, thou speak'st drowsily? 

Poor knave, 27 I blame thee not; thou art o'er- 

watch'd. 
Call Claudius and some other of my men ; 242 

I '11 have them sleep on cushions in my tent. 
Luc. Varro and Claudius ! 

Enter Varro and Claudius. 
Var. Calls my lord? 

Bru. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep ; 
It may be I shall raise you by and by 
On business to my brother Cassius. 

Var. So please you, we will stand and watch 

your pleasure. 
Bru. I will not have it so ; lie down, good sirs ; 25 ° 
It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. 
Look, Lucius, here 's the book I sought for so; 
I put it in the pocket of my gown. 28 

[Varro and Claudius lie doivn. 
Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give 

it me. 
Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much for- 
getful. 
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile, 
And touch thy instrument a strain or two? 
Luc. Ay, my lord, an 't please you. 
Bru. It does, my boy : 

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. 

27 Boy. 

28 The ordinary house costume of a gentleman in Shake- 
speare's time, but not worn by the Romans. 



n8 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act IV 

Luc. It is my duty, sir. 

Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy 
might ; 
I know young bloods 29 look for a time of rest. 
Luc. I have slept, my lord, already. 
Bru. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep 
again : 
I will not hold thee long: if I do live, 
I will be good to thee. [Music, and a song. 

This is a sleepy tune. O murd'rous slumber, 
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy, 
That plays thee music ? Gentle knave, good night ; 
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee : 
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument; 
I '11 take it from thee ; and, good boy, good night. 30 
Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turn'd 

down 31 
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think. 
Enter the Ghost of Cesar. 32 

29 Youths. 

30 What impression does this little episode make upon you? 

31 Books made of separate sheets sewed together and read 
by turning' the leaves did not come into general use until the 
Middle Ages. 

32 On the modern stage the introduction of a ghost indi- 
cates, usually, either burlesque or fraud; but in Shake- 
speare's time nobody doubted that phantom forms could ap- 
pear in visible shape and speak with audible voice. These 
phantoms frequently assumed the form of a deceased person; 
but it was believed that they were seldom or never animated 
by the soul of a human being. The human form was simply 



Scene III] JULIUS C&SAR 119 

How ill this taper burns! Ha! who comes here? 

I think it is the weakness of mine eyes 

That shapes this monstrous apparition. 

It comes upon me. Art thou any thing? 

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil, 

That mak'st my blood cold and my hair to stare ? 33 280 

Speak to me what thou art. 

Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. 34 

Bru. Why com'st thou? 

Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi. 

Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again? 

Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. 

Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then. 

[Exit Ghost. 
Now I have taken heart thou vanishest : 
111 spirit, I would hold more talk with thee. 
Boy, Lucius ! Varro ! Claudius ! Sirs, awake ! 290 

Claudius ! 

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false. 

Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument. 
Lucius, awake ! 

assumed for the occasion by one of the spirits or daemons 
who were supposed to inhabit the air and the vacant places 
of earth in innumerable multitudes, some of them with 
benevolent, others with malevolent inclinations toward man- 
kind. One of these daemons is avenging the death of Caesar 
and has assumed Caesar's form for the confusion of his mur- 
derer. According to Plutarch, it is "Brutus' own evil 
Genius," the spirit which thwarts his good intentions, that 
thus appears in visible form. 

33 To stand on end. 

34 See Outline Study note 15. 



120 JULIUS CMSAR [Act IV 

Luc. My lord? 

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so 

criedst out? 
Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 
Bru. Yes, that thou didst: didst thou see any 

thing ? 
Luc. Nothing - , my lord. 

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudius ! 30 ° 
[To Var.l Fellow thou, awake ! 
Far. My lord? 
Clau. My lord? 
Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your 

sleep ? 
Var. Clau. Did we, my lord? 
Bru. Ay: saw you any thing? 

Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing. 
Clau. Nor I, my lord. 

Bru. Go and commend me to my brother 
Cassius : 
Bid him set on his powers betimes before, 
And we will follow. 

Var. Clau. It shall be done, my lord. 

[Exeunt. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT V.— SCENE I.— THE PLAINS OF PHILIPPI. 

Note. In this scene, Brutus and Cassius exchange defiance 
and recrimination with Antony and Octavius before their 
armies engage. 

(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The Plains of Philippi looking northeast. — A swampy 
plain with low hillocks here and there, covered with rushes 
and marsh grass and extending as far as eye can reach. In 
the distant background on the left is the wall of a small town 
near which is the line of entrenchment of the camp of Octa- 
vius and Antony. In the distant background, on the right, 
are seen the ditch and wall of the camp of Brutus and Cassius, 
where a large red banner is conspicuous. The army of Octa- 
vius and Antony enters first from the left : — two ranks of 
soldiers in close order followed by the standard bearer with 
his standard ; behind the standard bearer, are musicians with 
trumpets; then follow Antony and Octavius with the officers 
of their staff; and behind them, several more ranks of soldiers 
representing the head of a long advancing column. The 
Messenger, a light-armed soldier, enters from the right; and, 
soon afterward, the army of Brutus and Cassius enters, from 
the right, in the same order as the other army. 

The standard of the army of Octavius and Antony 
is a silver eagle with outstretched wings on the top of a pole. 
Under the eagle is a cross arm from which hangs a white, 
four-cornered banner. Brutus' standard bearer, also, carries 
the eagle, but the banner is red. At a sign from Brutus this 
red banner is removed as a sign of truce. The two front 
ranks on either side open and the four generals advance alone 
into the center of the stage for the parley. 



122 JULIUS CMSAR [Act V 

(2). Actors. 

Octavius, Antony, Brutus, Cassius. 

Lucilius, Titinius, Messala. 
(3). Costumes. 

The Four Generals, distinguished by their scarlet 
cloaks, are dressed as in iv., except that they wear plumed 
helmets and greaves of embossed metal. 

The Officers & Soldiers are dressed as in iv. 
(4). Time of Action. 

A few months later than iv. 



SCENE I. The plains of Philippe 

Enter Octavius, Antony, and their Army. 

Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered: 
You said the enemy would not come down, 
But keep the hills and upper regions ; 2 
It proves not so : their battles 3 are at hand ; 
They mean to warn 4 us at Philippi here, 
Answering before we do demand of them. 

Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know 
Wherefore they do it : they could be content 5 

1 A city of Macedonia opposite Thasos. The town is noted 
as the place in which the Apostle Paul first preached in 
Europe. 

2 Plutarch says, "They came to the coast opposite Thasos." 
Shakespeare reads, "They came to the coast, opposite 
Thasos"; and so supposes them to have come down out of the 
interior. 

3 Armies. 

4 Challenge. 

5 i. e., They do not mean to fight hut wish to impress us so 
that we will not attack them. 



Scene I] JULIUS CJBSAR 123 

To visit other places : and come down 
With fearful bravery, thinking- by this face 10 

To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage ; 
But 't is not so. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. Prepare you, generals : 

The enemy comes on in gallant show ; 
Their bloody sign of battle is hung out, 
And something- to be done immediately. 

Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on, 
Upon the left hand of the even field. 

Oct. Upon the right hand I ; keep thou the left. 

Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent? 19 

Oct. I do not cross you ; but T will do so. [March. 

Drum. Enter Brutus, Cassius, and their Army; Lucilius, 
Titinius, Messala, and others. 
Bru. They stand, and would have parley. 
Cas. Stand fast, Titinius : we must out and 

talk. 
Oct. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of 

battle ? 
Ant. No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge. 
Make forth ; the generals would have some words. 
Oct. Stir not until the signal. 
Bru. Words before blows : is it so, countrymen ? 
Oct. Not that we love words better, as you do. 
Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes, 
Octavius. 



124 JULIUS C2BSAR [Act V 

Ant. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give 
good words: 30 

Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart, 
Crying " Long live ! hail, Caesar ! " 

Cas. Antony, 

The posture of your blows are yet unknown; 
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees, 
And leave them honeyless. 

Ant Not stingless too. 

Brn. O yes, and soundless too ; 
For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony, 
And very wisely threat before you sting. 

Ant. Villains, you did not so, when your vile 
daggers 
Hack'd one another in the sides of Caesar: 
You show'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd like 

hounds, 
And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Caesar's feet; 
Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind 
Struck Caesar on the neck. O you flatterers ! 

Cas. Flatterers! Now, Brutus, thank yourself : 
This tongue had not offended so to-day, 
If Cassius might have rul'd. 

Oct. Come, come, the cause: if arguing make 
us sweat, 
The proof of it will turn to redder drops. 
Look; 50 

I draw a sword against conspirators; 
When think you that the sword goes up again? 



Scene I] JULIUS CMSAR 125 

Never, till Caesar's three and thirty wounds 
Be well aveng'd ; or till another Caesar 
Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors. 
Bru. Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors' 
hands, 
Unless thou bring'st them with thee. 

Oct. So I hope; 

I was not born to die on Brutus' sword. 

Bru. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain, 
Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable. 60 
Cas. A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such 
honour, 
Join'd with a masker and a reveller! 
" Ant. Old Cassius still ! 

Oct. Come, Antony, away! 

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth : 
If you dare fight to-day, come to the field; 
If not, when you have stomachs. 

[Exeunt OctaviuSj Antony, and their army. 9 
Cas. Why, now, blow wind, swell billow and 
swim bark ! 
The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. 
Bru. Ho, Lucilius ! hark, a word with you. 
Lucil. [Standing forth.] My Lord? 

[Brutus and Lucilius converse apart. 
Cas. Messala ! 

6 Such a scene, though repugnant to Roman custom and 
to modern ideas, was in accordance with the customs of 
chivalry and was regarded hy Shakespeare's audience as an 
eminently fitting prelude to a great battle. 



so 



126 JULIUS C2BSAR [Act V 

Mes. [Standing forth.] What says my general? 

Cas. Messala, 71 

This is my birth-day; as this very day 
Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala : 
Be thou my witness that against my will, 
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set 
Upon one battle all our liberties. 
You know that I held Epicurus 7 strong 
And his opinion: now I change my mind, 
And partly credit things that do presage. 
Coming from Sardis, on our former 8 ensign 
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch'd, 
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands; 
Who to Philippi here consorted us : 
This morning are they fled away and gone; 
And in their steads do ravens, crows and kites, 
Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us, 
As we were sickly prey : their shadows seem 
A canopy most fatal, under which 
Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 

Mes. Believe not so. 

Cas. I but believe it partly; 

For I am fresh of spirit and resolv'd 
To meet all perils very constantly. 

Bru. Even so, Lucilius. 

Cas. Now, most noble Brutus. 

The gods to-day stand friendly that we may, 

7 A famous Greek philosopher who denied that the gods in- 
terfered with the operation of natural cause and effect. 

8 First. 



91 



Scene I] JULIUS C2ESAR 127 

Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age ! 

But since the affairs of men rest still incertain, 

Let 's reason with the worst that may befall. 

If we do lose this battle, then is this 

The very last time we shall speak together : 

What are you then determined to do? 10 ° 

Bru. Even by the rule of that philosophy 9 
By which I did blame Cato.for the death 
Which he did give himself, I know not how, 
But I do find it cowardly and vile, 
p A or fear of what might fall, so to prevent 
The time of life: 10 arming myself with patience 
To stay the providence of some high powers 11 
That govern us below. 

Cas. Then, if we lose this battle, 

You are contented to be led in triumph 
Through the streets of Rome? no 

Bru. No, Cassius, no : think not, thou noble 
Roman, 
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome ; 
He bears too great a mind. But this same day 
Must end that work the ides of March begun; 
And whether we shall meet again I know not. 

9 The meaning of this passage is that Brutus does not, 
like Cato, justify deliberate suicide on philosophical grounds, 
but his philosophy is not strong enough to induce him to live 
without honor. 

10 "Cut off my life." 

11 i. e., "To wait whatever the ruling powers have deter- 
mined my lot shall be." 



128 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act V 

Therefore our everlasting farewell take: 
For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius ! 
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; 
If not, why then, this parting was well made. 

Cas. For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus ! 12 ° 
If we do meet again, we '11 smile indeed; 
If not, 't is true this parting was well made. 

Bru. Why, then, lead. on. O, that a man might 
' know 
The end of this day's business ere it come! 
But it sufficeth that the day will end, 
And then the end is known. Come, ho ! away ! 

[Exeunt. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT V.— SCENE II— A FIELD OF BATTLE. 

Note. This scene shows Brutus victorious over Octavius. 
(i). Setting of the Scene. 

The same scene as in v. I. The grass is trampled 
and blood-stained; dead and wounded men are lying on the 
ground; spears, shields, etc., are scattered about. Brutus and 
Messala enter from opposite sides of the stage. Trumpet 
blasts and the noise of fighting are heard on all sides. 
(2). Actors. 

Brutus & Messala. 



Scene II] JULIUS CMSAR 129 



SCENE II. The same. The field of battle. 

Alarum. Enter Brutus and Messala. 
Bru. Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these 
bills 1 
Unto the legions on the other side. [Loud alarum. 

Let them set on at once ; for I perceive 
But cold demeanour in Octavius' wing, 
And sudden push gives them the overthrow. 
Ride, ride, Messala : let them all come down. [Exeunt. 



SCENE III.— ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD. 

Note. Cassius, defeated by Antony and believing that all 
is lost, commands his servant to kill him that he may not 
fall alive into the hands of his enemies. 
(1). Setting of the Scene. 

At the left of the stage is a small hillock which slopes 
toward the center ; in the background are the ditch and wall 
of the camp of Brutus and Cassius, behind which flames burst 
out during the scene. Cassius and Titinius enter from oppo- 
site sides, each carrying a drawn sword in his right hand. 
Cassius holds in his left hand, the eagle standard with its red 
banner. As the bodies of Titinius and Cassius are lifted, the 
noise of battle dies away in the distance. 
(2). Actors. 

All the actors in this scene have been introduced to 
the reader with the exception of 

Cato ^ 

Strato y Friends of Brutus and Cassius. 

Volumnius y 

1 Writings. 



130 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act V. 



SCENE III. Another part of the Held. 

Alarums. Enter Cassius and Titinius. 

Cas. O, look, Titinius, look, the villains 2 fly! 
Myself have to mine own turn'd enemy: 
This ensign here of mine was turning back ; 
I slew the coward, and did take it from him. 

Tit. O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too 
early ; 
Who, having some advantage on Octavius, 
Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil, 
Whilst we by Antony are all enclos'd. 

Enter Pindarus. 

Pin. Fly further off, my lord, fly further off; 
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord: 10 

Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off. 

Cas. This hill is far enough. Look, look, 
Titinius ; 
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire? 

Tit. They are, my lord. 

Cas. Titinius, if thou lovest me, 

Mount thou thy horse, and hide thy spurs in him, 
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops, 
And here again; that I may rest assured 
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy. 

Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought. 

[Exit. 

2 To Shakespeare the word villain meant simply a man 
without courage or sense of honor. 



Scene III] JULIUS CMSAR i 3 r 

Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill; 20 

My sight was ever thick; regard Titinius, 
And tell me what thou not'st about the field. 

[Pindarus ascends the hill. 
This day I breathed first: time is come round, 
And where I did begin, there shall I end; 
My life is run his compass. Sirrah, what news? 

Pin. [Above.] O my lord! 

Cas. What news? 

Pin. [Above.] Titinius is enclosed round about 
With horsemen, that make to him on the spur ; 
Yet he spurs on. Now they are almost on him. 30 
Now, Titinius ! Now some light. O, he lights too. 
He 's ta'en. [Shout.] And, hark! they shout for 

joy- 

Cas. Come down, behold no more. 
O, coward that I am, to live so long-, 
To see my best friend ta'en before my face! 

Pindarus descends. 
Come hither, sirrah : 
In Parthia 3 did I take thee prisoner; 
And then I swore thee, saving of thy life, 
That whatsoever I did bid thee do, 
Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine 

oath ; 40 

3 "Pindarus one of his freedmen whom he had reserved for 
such an occasion ever since the disasters in the expedition 
against the Parthians when Crassus was slain * * * He 
(Cassius) made his neck bare and held it forth to Pindarus 
commanding- him to strike * * * But no man ever saw 
Pindarus after." — Plutarch. 



132 JULIUS CMSAR [Act V 

Now be a freeman : and with this good sword 
That ran through Caesar's bowels, search this 

bosom. 
Stand not to answer : here, take thou the hilts ; 
And, when my face is cover'd, as 't is now, 
Guide thou the sword. [Pindarus stabs him.li 

Caesar thou art reveng'd, 
Even with the sword that kill'd thee. [Dies. 

Pin. So, I am free ; yet would not so have been, 
Durst I have done my will. O Cassius, 
Far from this country Pindarus shall run, 49 

Where never Roman shall take note of him. [Exit. 

Re-enter Titinius with Messala. 

Mes. It is but change, Titinius: for Octavius 
Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power, 
As Cassius' legions are by Antony. 

Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius. 
' Mes. Where did you leave him ? 

Tit. All disconsolate, 

With Pindarus, his bondman, on this hill. 

Mes. Is not that he that lies upon the ground? 

Tit. He lies not like the living. O my heart ! 

Mes. Is not that he? 

Tit. No, this was he, Messala, 

But Cassius is no more. O setting sun, 
As in thy red rays thou dost sink to-night, 
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set; 
The sun of Rome is set ! Our day is gone ; 



60 



TO 



Scens III] JULIUS CJBSAR 133 

Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are 

done ! 
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed. 

Mes. Mistrust of good success hath done this 
deed. 
O hateful error, melancholy's child, 
Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men 
The things that are not ? Q error, soon conceiv'd, 
Thou never com'st unto a happy birth, 
But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee ! 

Tit. What, Pindarus! where art thou, Pin- 
da rus ? 

Mes. Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet 
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report 
Into his ears; I may say, thrusting it; 
For piercing steel and darts envenomed 
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus 
As tidings of this sight. 

Tit. Hie you, Messala, 

And I will seek for Pindarus the while. [Exit Messala, 
Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius? 
Did I not meet thy friends? and did not they 
Put on my brows this wreath of victory, 
And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear 

their shouts? 
Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing! 
But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow ; 
Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I 
Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace, 



134 JULIUS CAESAR [Act V 

And see how I regarded Caius Cassius. 
By your leave, gods : — this is a Roman's part : 
Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart. 90 

[Kills himself. 

Alarum. Re-enter. Messala, with Brutus, young Cato, 
Strato, Volumnius, and Lucilius. 

Bru. Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie ? 

Mes. ho, yonder, and Titinius mourning it. 

Bru. Titinius' face is upward. 

Cato. He is slain. 

Bru. O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet ! 
Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 
In our own proper entrails. 4 [Low alarums. 

Cato. Brave Titinius ! 

Look, whether he have not crown'd dead Cassius ! 5 

Bru. Are yet two Romans living such as these? 
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well ! 
It is impossible that ever Rome 10 ° 

Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe more 

tears 
To this dead man than you shall see me pay. 
I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. 
Come, therefore, and to Thasos 6 send his body: 
His funerals shall not be in our camp, 
Lest it discomfort us. Lucilius, come; 
And come, young Cato; let us to the field. 

4 Here Brutus strikes the keynote of the play. 

5 That is, the suicide of Titinius, through grief at his 
death, was a crown to the career of Cassius. 

6' An island in the Aegean, not far from this battlefield. 



Scene IV] JULIUS CMSAR 135 

Labeo and Flavius, 7 set our battles on : 8 

'T is three o'clock ; and, Romans, yet ere night 109 

We shall try fortune in a second fight. [Exeunt. 

7 Brutus' officers. They were both killed in the second 
battle. 

8 Paraphrase. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT V.— SCENE IV.— ANOTHER PART OF THE 

FIELD. 

Note. This scene shows (1) Brutus hard pressed by the 
combined forces of Antony and Octavius. (2) The devotion 
of Brutus' followers. 

(1). Setting of the Scene. 

The same scene as v. 1. The soldiers of both armies 
enter, from opposite sides, fighting, holding their shields 
before them with their left arms and thrusting with swords. 
Some fall ; Antony's men flee and are pursued by Brutus' 
soldiers. As they leave the stage, Brutus and his officers 
enter; cross the stage; and disappear. Lucilius is left alone 
and witnesses the death of Cato (which takes place off the 
stage) and the flight of Brutus' soldiers pursued in their turn 
by the soldiers of Antony. Fighting, shouting, and trumpet 
blasts fill this scene with noise and confusion. 

(2). Actors. 

Brutus, Antony, Cato, Lucilius. 

(3). Costumes. 

The same as in the preceding scenes of this act, save 
that Lucilius wears a general's scarlet cloak as a disguise. 



136 JULIUS CmSAR [Act V 

(4). Time of Action. 

Plutarch says that twenty days elapsed between the 
battles of Scenes 1 — 3 and that of Scenes 4 — 5; but for some 
reason, the dramatist prefers to represent the second battle 
as fought in the evening of the day of the first battle. 



SCENE IV. Another part of the Held. 

Alarum. Enter -fighting, Soldiers of both armies; then 

Brutus, young Cato, Lucilius, and others. 
Bru. Yet, countrymen, O, yet hold up your 

heads ! 
Cato. What bastard doth not? Who will go 
with me? 
I will proclaim my name about the field : 
I am the son of Marcus Cato., ho ! 
A foe to tyrants, and my country's friend; 
I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho I 1 

Bru. And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I ; 
Brutus, my country's friend ; know me for Brutus ! 

[Exit. 
Lucil. O young- and noble Cato, art thou down? 
Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius; 10 

And mayst be honour'd, being Cato's son. 
First Sol. Yield, or thou diest. 
Lucil. Only I yield to die : 2 

1 "Here Marcus the son of Cato was slain fighting with 
great bravery in the midst of the youth of highest rank 
* * declaring who he was and naming his father's name." 
Plutarch's Life of Marcus Brutus. 

2 "I yield only to die." 



Scene IV] JULIUS C2ESAR 137 

There is so much that thou wilt kill me straight; 

[Offering money. 
Kill Brutus, and be honour'd in his death. 

First Sol. We must not. A noble prisoner! 

Sec. Sol. Room, ho ! Tell Antony, Brutus is 
ta'en. 

First Sol. I '11 tell the news. Here comes the 
general. 

Enter Antony. 
Brutus is ta'en, Brutus is ta'en, my lord. 

Ant. Where is he? 

Lucil. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough: 20 
I dare assure thee that no enemy 
Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus: 
The gods defend him from so great a shame! 
When you do find him, or alive or dead, 
He will be found like Brutus, like himself. 

Ant. This is not Brutus, friend; but, I assure 
you, 
A prize no less in worth: keep this man safe; 
Give him all kindness : I had rather have 
Such men my friends than enemies. Go on, 
And see whether Brutus be alive or dead; 
And bring us word unto Octavius' tent 
How everything is chanced. [Exeunt. 



SCENE-SETTING. 

ACT V.— SCENE V.— ANOTHER PART OF THE 

FIELD. 

Note. Brutus, cut off with a few friends from the main 
body of his army, and surrounded by the enemy, discouraged 
and desperate, falls on his sword and sacrifices his life to 
appease the spirit of the murdered Caesar, 
(i). Setting of the Scene. 

A grotto formed by an overhanging cliff. It is night 
and the scene is dimly lighted by torches ; overhead the stars 
are shining. In strong contrast to Scene 4, the silence (until 
after the Death Scene) is broken only by the voices of the 
actors, the gentle murmur of a brook, and a few strains of 
a distant trumpet call. The entrance of Antony and Octavitis 
is heralded by a loud trumpet blast. 

After the Death Scene, the body of Brutus occupies 
the center of the stage ; and Antony, as he pronounces line 
68, covers it with his own scarlet cloak. 

Scene V. Another part of the Held. 

Enter Brutus, Dardanius, Clitus, Strato, and Volumnius. 
Bra. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on 

this rock. 
Cli. Statilius show'd the torch-light, 1 but, my 
lord, 

1 "Statilius undertook to dash through the enemy and to 
see what was become of the camp; and promised if he found 
all things there safe to hold up a torch for a signal and then 
return. The torch was held up * * * but it happened 
that Statilius, in his return, fell into the enemy's hands and 
was slain." — Plutarch's Life of Brutus. 



Scene IV] JULIUS C2ESAR 



139 



He came not back : he is or ta'en or slain. 

Bru. Sit thee down, Clitus: slaying is the 
word; 
It is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Clitus. [Whispers. 

Cli. What, I, my lord? No, not for all the 
world. 

Bru. Peace then! no words. 

Cli. I '11 rather kill myself, 

Bru. Hark thee, Dardanius. [Whispers. 

Dar. Shall I do such a deed ? 

Cli. O Dardanius ! 

Dar. O Clitus! 10 

Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to thee? 

Dar. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he meditates. 

Cli. Now is that noble vessel full of grief, 
That it runs over even at his eyes. 

Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius ; list a word. 

Vol. What says my lord? 

Bru. Why, this, Volumnius : 

The ghost of Caesar hath appeard to me 
Two several times by night ; at Sardis once, 
And, this last night, here in Philippi fields : 
I know my hour is come. 

Vol. Not so, my lord. 20 

Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. 
Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes; 
Our enemies have beat us to the pit : 2 [Lozv alarums. 
It is more worthy to leap in ourselves, 

2 As hunted animals driven by encircling hunters and dogs 
into the pitfall trap. 



i 4 o JULIUS CJBSAR [Act V 

Than tarry till they push us. Good Volumnius, 
Thou know'st that we two went to school together : 
Even for that our love of old, I prithee, 
Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it 

Vol. That 's not an office for a friend, my lord. 

[Alarum still. 

Cli. Fly, fly, my lord ; there is no tarrying here. 30 

Bru. Farewell to you ; and you ; and you, 
Volumnius. 
Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep; 
Farewell to thee too, Strato. Countrymen, 
My heart doth joy that yet in all my life 
I found no man but he was true to me. 
I shall have glory by this losing day 
More than Octavius and Mark Antony 
By this vile conquest shall attain unto. 
So fare you well at once ; for Brutus' tongue 
Hath almost ended his life's history: 40 

Night hangs upon mine eyes ; my bones would rest, 
That have but labour'd to attain this hour. 

[Alarum. Cry within, " Fly, fly, fly ! " 

Cli. Fly, my lord, fly. 

Bru. Hence ! I will follow. 

[Exeunt Clitus, Dardanius, and Volumnius. 
I prithee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord : 
Thou art a fellow of a good respect; 
Thy life hath had some smatch 3 of honour in it : 
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face, 

3 Taste or flavor. 






Scene IV] JULIUS C2ESAR 141 

While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato? 
Stra. Give me your hand first. Fare you well, 

my lord. 
Bru. Farewell, good Strato. [Runs on his 
szvord.] Caesar, now be still: 50 

I kill'd not thee with half so good a will. [Dies. 

Alarum. Retreat. Enter Octavius, Antony, Messala, 
Lucilius, and the Army. 

Oct. What man is that? 

Mes. My master's man. Strato, where is thy 

master ? 
Stra. Free from the bondage you are in, Mes- 
sala : 
The conquerors can but make a fire of him ; 4 
For Brutus only overcame himself, 
And no man else hath honour by his death. 

Lucil. So Brutus should be found. I thank 
thee, Brutus, 
That thou hast prov'd Lucilius' saying true. 

Oct. All that serv'd Brutus, I will entertain 
them. 
Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me? 
Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer 5 me to you. 
Oct. Do so, good Messala. 
Mes. How died my master, Strato? 
Stra. I held the sword, and he did run on it. 

4 That is, There is only his body to burn. 

5 Recommend. 



142 JULIUS C2ESAR [Act V 

Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee, 
That did the latest service to my master. 

Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all. 
All the conspirators save only he 
Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; 70 

He only, in a general honest thought 
And common good to all, made one of them. 
His life was gentle, and the elements 
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up 
And say to all. the world " This was a man! " 

Oct. According to his virtue let us use him, 
With all respect and rites of burial. 
Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie, 
Most like a soldier, order d honourably. 
So call the field to rest; and let 's away 80 

To part the glories 6 of this happy day. [Exeunt. 

6 Give each man his due share of the honor of the victory. 



OUTLINE STUDY 

NO. 3 

' JULIUS CAESAR 

A. Preparatory Work. — History of the Drama ; 

Classification of Shakespeare's Dramas. 

B. First Reading. — The Narrative of the Drama ; 

The Historical Situation. 

C. Second Reading. — Critical Analysis of Julius Caesar 

as a Dramatic Composition ; Study of the Text. 

p D. Third Reading. — Character Study; Literary 
Analysis. 

E. Supplementary Work. — History of Julius Caesar 
and Mark Antony; Theme Subjects. 



4 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CESAR 

A. PREPARATORY WORK 

HISTORY OF THE DRAMA; 

CLASSIFICATION 

OF SHAKESPEARE'S 

DRAMAS 

I. The Drama 

1. Its chief characteristic as a literary composition. 

Note 1. Dramatic composition differs from all other forms of litera- 
ture in that it consists of the animated conversation of various 
personages, from whose speech the movement of the story is to 
be gathered. 

2. Its two divisions : — 

a. Tragedy. ( Give definition and derivation. ) 

b. Comedy. {Give definition and derivation. ) 

Note 2. In Shakespeare's dramas the difference between tragedy 
and comedy is one of conclusion merely. No matter how com- 
plicated the situation of the drama has become, in a comedy 
there is always a satisfactory resolution of that complication ; in 
a tragedy, the reverse resolution is found. 

3. Structure of Shakespeare's dramas: — 

a. A main plot. 

b. An underplot. 

c. The catastrophe. 

4. History of the drama in England. 

a. Its first form. — Miracle Plays and Mysteries. 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CESAR 5 

(1.) Of no literary value; vulgar and ir- 
reverent. 

(2.) Plots taken from the Bible and the 
Lives of the Saints. 

(3.) Performed until the middle of the six- 
teenth century. 

b. Second form. — Moralities. 

( 1 . ) Allegorical characters, as, Virtue, Vice, 
Sobriety, Temperance, etc. 

c. Third form. — Masques and Interludes. (Fore- 

runners of Farce and Comedy.) 

d. Character of the early stage representations : — - 

(1.) No scenery; placards indicated the 
place of action. 

(2.) Female roles assumed by boys. 

II. Place of Julius C^sar Among 
Shakespeare's Plays 

Note 3 . Shakespeare's plays may be classified as follows : — 

1. English Historical plays, as, King John, Henry 

IV., etc. 

2. Roman Plays, semi-historical, as Julius Ctesar, Antony 

and Cleopatra, etc. 

3. Greek Plays, semi-historical or legendary, as, Troilus 

and Cressida. 

4. Tragedies, as, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello. 

5. Comedies, as, The Merchant of Venice, The Tem- 

pest, etc. 



6 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CESAR 

B. FIRST READING 

THE NARRATIVE OF THE DRAMA; 
THE HISTORICAL SITUATION 

I. Outline of the Narrative 

Note 4. To present the story of the drama properly, it will be 
necessary to go back fifteen years to the year 59 B. C, when that 
great coalition was formed which was the first step toward the 
downfall of the Roman Republic. 

1. Events preceding the opening of the action of 
the drama. 

a. First triumvirate. — Caesar, Pompey, Crassus. 

(1.) Object of the triumvirs : To secure 
for themselves the control of public 
affairs. 

b. Four years later 

(1.) Crassus is slain. 

(2.) Pompey and Caesar have divided the 
world between them. 

(3.) Two parties in Rome, — Aristocratic, 
represented by Pompey; Democratic, 
represented by Caesar. (Each party 
jealous of the reputation of the 
other.) 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 



c. Events of the years 49, 48 B. C. 

(1.) Civil War.— Brought to an end by 
the Battle of Pharsalus, 48 B. C, 
when Pompey was defeated, and, 
while fleeing, was assassinated. 

Note 5. Brutus refers to this battle when he says, " Be thou my 
witness , " etc. 

d. Result of the war. — Caesar at the head of the 
Roman world. The Senate has made him per- 
petual dictator, with powers of censor, consul and 
tribune. 

Note 6. Caesar's reign was characterized by statesmanship of the 
highest order. 

e. Battle of Munda. 

(1.) Date, March 17, 45 B. C. 

(2.) Situation of the battlefield. 

(3.) Contestants. — Caesar and the sons of 
Pompey. 

(4.) Result. — A victory for Caesar. 
Note 7 . It is at this point that our narrative begins. 

II. Narrative of the Drama 

a. Date of opening of action, Feb. 15, 44 B. C. 

b. Occasion. 

Note 8. Czesar comes back to Rome to find himself surrounded by 
new conditions. The " liberty -faction," whose members are 
Caesar's personal enemies, has grown in numbers and in strength, 
and a report is current that Caesar is aiming to make himself 
king and tyrant, and that he has the design of withdrawing to 
Alexandria, and of making that city the capital of the Roman 
World. Hence we find the tribunes in the first scene of the 
play rebuking the populace for its interest in Caesar. 



8 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 

c. The procession; Cassius and Brutus discuss pub- 

lic affairs, and Caesar's position in the state. 

Note 9. In the course of the conversation, Cassius, reviewing the 
situation, puts into words the plans which Brutus has had in 
mind but has not dared to formulate, and wins from Brutus the 
admission that " Brutus had rather be,''' etc. 

d. Apprehensions aroused by the reappearance of 

Caesar and his train, and by Casca's recital of 
Caesar's refusal of the crown. 

e. The conspiracy takes a definite form in the mind 

of Cassius. •" / will this night " .... ; con- 
spirators meet at Pompey's porch ; conspirators 
assemble at the house of Brutus ; decision of 
Brutus. 

/. Conspiracy formally ratified, March 15, 44 B. C, 
and each one is assigned his part in the tragedy. 

g. Casars Warnings. 

(1.) A tablet of brass has been found in a 
tomb with an inscription upon it in 
the Greek language to the effect 
that " whenever these bones come 
to be discovered, a descendant of 
lulus will be slain by the hands of 
his kinsmen." 

(2.) The horses of Caesar abstained entirely 
from eating, and shed floods of tears. 

(3.) The soothsayer, Spurinna, advised him 
to beware of danger, because of 
ominous appearances in the sac- 
rifices. 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SAR 9 

(4.) The day before the Ides, birds of 
various kinds, pursuing a wren which 
flew into Pompey's Senate House 
with a sprig of laurel in its beak, 
tore it in pieces. 

(5.) The night before the Ides, Caesar 
dreamed at one time that he was 
soaring above the clouds; and, at 
another, that he had joined hands 
with Jupiter. 

(6.) Calpurnia's dream. 

h. The Great Tragedy. — Caesar enters the Senate; 
position of the conspirators ; petition of Cim- 
ber ; signal for attack ; Brutus stabs Caesar ; 
action of senators, of Antony, of the partisans 
of Brutus ; Antony's request ; disposition of the 
body ; effect of Brutus's speech on the mob ; 
effect of Antony's speech. 

Note 10. The speeches of Brutus and of Antony are the most perfect 
imitation of the condensed eloquence of antiquity which our 
language affords. Brutus's speech is argumentative. He is 
convinced of the justice of his cause, but realizes that it will 
require an effort to convince others of it. He appeals to the 
fact that the people have been deprived of their independence 
under the tyranny of Caesar, and prevents objections by classify- 
ing these objections in advance. 

The aim or Antony is to move the feelings of his audience, 
in order to gain the attention of the people who have just shown 
their approval of Brutus's point of view. 

Note 11. Those senators who were ignorant of the conspiracy were 
prevented by consternation or horror from going to the aid of 
Caesar. 



10 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SSAR 






i. Events after the Tragedy. — The proscription ; 
quarrel between Brutus and Cassius ; the recon- 
ciliation ; Portia's death ; the warning of Cae- 
sar's ghost ; the announcement of the approach 
of Antony and Octavianus ; the decision to 
march to Philippi ; the Battle of Philippi ; its 
result. 

Note 12. Between Acts III and IV is an interval of nineteen months, 
during which time Antony, endeavoring to succeed to Caesar's 
power, has found a formidable rival in Octavianus, the great 
nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. In the beginning of 
the year 43, Antony and Octavianus fought over the possession 
of Cisalpine Gaul, and Antony was defeated. Later the two 
men became reconciled, and, with Lepidus, formed the Second 
Triumvirate, to rule for five years. The enemies of each were 
proscribed, and Act IV., Scene 1, of our drama opens with the 
making of this list of proscriptions. 

Meanwhile Brutus, having retired to Athens, had raised a 
large army there, and had become master of all Greece and 
Macedonia. He goes now to Asia and joins Cassius, whose 
efforts have been equally successful, and the two generals have 
returned to Europe to oppose the triumvirs, whom they meet on 
the plains of Philippi. 

/. Fate of Brutus and Cassius. 

III. Characters in the Order of 
their Appearance 

Suggestion 1. It is intended that the pupils shall make a careful 
list of all the actors of the drama in the order of their appearance 
upon the scene ; identify each, and state the fate of each. 

IV. Details of the Conspiracy 

1. Reason for? Suggested by whom? Made practi- 
cable by the sanction of whom ? Names of the 
chief conspirators ? Meeting place ? Ratifica- 
cation of ? Watchword of the conspiracy ? 
Failure of the conspiracy ? Its justification ? 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SAR 11 



Note 13. "The whole design of the conspirators to liberate their 
country failed, from the overweening confidence of Brutus in the 
goodness of their cause and in the assistance of others." 

Note 14. Notice that most of the conspirators had received favors 
from Caesar. 

V. Place of Action of the Drama. — Rome, 

Sardis, Philippi 

VI. Date of Action.— 44 B. C— 42 B. C. 

VII. Political Situation 

Suggestion 2. Use this as the subject for a carefully prepared paper. 
A Classical Dictionary, under the subjects Casar, Brutus and 
Antony, will give concise and accurate information. 



C. SECOND READING 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JULIUS 
C^SAR AS A DRAMATIC COM- 
POSITION; STUDY OF 
THE TEXT 

I. " Julius Cesar " as a Dramatic Composition 

1. The plot of the drama. 

Note 15. The assassination of Caesar and its fatal consequences. 
' ' The idea that the spirit of Caesar is avenging his murder is the 
central thought of the plot." 



12 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SAR 

2. The underplot. — Antony's efforts to succeed to 

Caesar's power. 

3. The catastrophe. 

4. Steps in the plot development. 

5. Four characters necessary to the plot development. 

6. Notable passages from a dramatic point of view. 

a. The first twenty lines, which bring the situation 

home to the reader, and put him in touch wi h 
the" plot. 

b. The interruption of Brutus, I., 2, which shows 

the direction which the plot is taking. 

c. Casca's story of the proffered crown. 

d. The anonymous letter. 

e. Artemidorus. 

/. The conversation in II., 1, in regard to the 

sunrise. 

g. Speeches of Brutus and Antony. 

Note 16. Observe the different aspects of Antony's speech. Note 
the significance of the word " honorable," and notice the point 
at which "honorable" becomes ironical; note the dramatic 
pauses in the speech, and show from the conversation of the citi- 
zens how well Antony had gauged his audience ; enumerate the 
ways in which the interest and sympathy of the citizens are 
aroused. 

II. Study of the Text 

1. Passages to paraphrase. (Give the context for each.) 

a. Many of the best respect in Rome. 

b. Caesar doth bear me hard. 

c. His coward lips did from their color fly. (Ex- 
plain the metip, or.) 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 13 

d. To hide thee from prevention. 

e. I'll get me to a place more void. 

/. To you our swords have leaden points. 

g. Crimsoned in thy Lethe. 

h. Let slip the dogs of war (*. e. the horrors of 
war, especially famine, slaughter and fire). 

i. Like horses hot at hand (/. e. difficult to 
manage) . 

/. To have an itching palm. 

2. Familiar passages from the drama. 

3. Roman Manners and Customs learned from the 

drama. 

Suggestion 3 . Use the above for the subject of a carefully written 
paper. 

III. Points to be Especially Noted 

1. Significance of " That comes in triumph over Pompey's 

blood 1 ." 

2. Note the struggle in the mind of Brutus between 

love of country and love of Caesar. 

3. The mere fact that Cassius goes so far out of his 

way to belittle Caesar, shows what his private opinion 
of him is. 

4. Arguments used to win over Brutus to the con- 

spirators' cause. 

5. How does Cassius open the plot ? 

6. Note the clever way in which Cassius turns Casca's 

fears to account. 



14 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SAR 

7. How does Brutus justify his act to himself ? 

8. Ruse to surround Caesar. 

9. Under what circumstances is Cicero mentioned ? 

10. Argument of Cassius and Brutus over Antony. 

Which was right in his judgment ? 

11. Note the manner in which Portia's death is an- 

nounced to the reader. 

12. The anachronism in " the clocks have stricken 

three." 

13. Rome has passed from the commonwealth to the 

empire. Brutus, animated with the old spirit, con- 
spires to slay Caesar, thinking that the killing of 
Caesar will kill what he represents. 

14. Brutus is the typical Roman to whom the state, not 

the individual, is of paramount importance. 

15. Pompey's statue, at the foot of which Caesar fell — 

a colossal, not ungainly figure of a man — is believed 
generally to be now standing in the Council Cham- 
ber of the Palazzo Spada alia Regola. What are 
said to be the stains of great Caesar's blood are, 
according to tradition, still visible upon the left leg 
of the statue. Mark Antony delivered his famous 
funeral oration on the Rostra Julia, on the east side 
of the forum. Its effect upon the mob is historic, 
but the words have never been reported by any 
ancient writer. 

16. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March. 

The Senate decreed that this day should in future 
be called " Parricidium," and that they should hold 
no sittings on it. 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 15 

D. THIRD READING 

CHARACTER STUDY; 
LITERARY ANALYSIS 

I. The Drama as a Study of Character 

Note 17. The four leading figures have their characters thrown into 
relief by contrast with one another. 

1. Brutus, the central figure of the play. 
a. Two sides to his character. 

(1.) His great strength of character is 
shown in the way in which he ap- 
preciates the issue at stake in the 
conspiracy. That he realizes the 
baseness of the conspirators' deed, 
as shown by the fact that he refuses 
to include Antony in Caesar's fate. 
This strength of character is seen, 
also, in 
(a.) His relations with Cassius. 
Note 18. In the discussions every point is decided, and wrongly 
decided, against Cassius 7 judgment. 

b. His scorn at the idea of taking 
refuge in suicide. 

(2.) His gentleness is shown in 

a. His consideration for Lucius. 

b. His relations with Portia. 

c. His appreciation of art, literature, 

music, etc. 



I 



16 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 

2. Julius Caesar. 

a. Contradiction in his character. 

Note 19. In the speeches of Caesar himself, and in the words of the 
other characters in the drama concerning him, we see the great 
Caesar of history, one of the " master spirits of the world " ; but 
in the scenes in which he plays an active part, he appears as the 
weakest and most vacillating of men. 

An explanation of this contradiction is not far to seek. 
Caesar has always been a man of action, perfect in military 
affairs. When there is anything to be done by force of arms 
and of will, there Caesar is leader ; but he has no passive 
courage. If he cannot act, he does not know what to do. He 
has come back to Rome to find that the time when the military 
man was the leader of affairs has gone by. Rome is ruled by 
demagogues, whose intellect and shrewdness, not their prowress 
in war, are the qualities upon which they rely. Caesar finds 
himself out of touch with these men. He is conscious of their 
intellectual superiority and of his own helplessness in such a state 
of things ; and this consciousness has brought about " a change 
in him of late." This is undoubtedly Shakespeare's conception 
of Caesar's character as we know from Cassius's story of Caesar 
and the Tiber, etc., in I., II. 

3. Cassius : Impatient; professional politician ; low view 

of human nature ; unscrupulous party spirit ; tact- 
ful ; shrewd. 

4. Antony : His whole aim is to acquire political suprem- 

acy for himself. (His attachment to Caesar seems 
to have been the one unselfish trait in his char- 
acter.) 

II. Julius C^sar as a Literary Composition 

1. Most apparent literary excellences. (Apparent to 
the young reader.) 

a. Striking choice of words. 

b. y Well-chosen epithets. 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CESAR 



17 



For ex- 



c. Effective use of images of nature. For example: — 

(1.) " It is a bright day that brings forth 
the adder." (Note the connection in 
which this is used.) 

d. Graphic force of the great scenes. 

ample : 

( 1.) Caesar and his Train. 

( 2.) The Midnight Meeting. 

( 3.) Brutus and Portia. 

(4.) Portia and Lucius. 

( 5.) The Assassination. 

( 6.) The Thunderstorm. 

( 7.) Over Caesar's Body. 

( 8.) The Tent Scene. 

( 9.) The Ghost of Caesar. 

(10.) The Parley. 
Suggestion 4. Re-read each scene aloud in class, and discuss each. 
Suggestion 5. Let the pupils select from the text passages illustrating 
these literary excellences. 

2. Metre of " Julius Caesar. "—Pentameter, Blank Verse 
D. SUPPLEMENTARY WORK 

HISTORY OF JULIUS C^SAR 

AND MARK ANTONY; 

THEME SUBJECTS 

I. Source of ''Julius C^sar." — North's 
Translation of Plutarch 
Suggestion 6. What is meant by ' ' Plutarch " ? 



18 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 

II. Julius C^sar 
1. Significant facts in his life. 

III. Mark Antony 

1. Significant facts in his life. 

2. After career of Antony. 

IV. Theme Subjects 

1. Play on Words in " JULIUS C^SAR." 

2. Obsolete Words found in the text. 

3. A Roman Triumph. 

4. A Roman Holiday. 

5. The Battle of Munda. 

6. The Lupercalia. 

7. The " Age's Yoke." 

8. Caesar's Ambition. 

9. The Calendar. 

10. The Philosophy of Brutus. 

11. The Typical Roman. 

12. Caesar's Will. 

13. The Government of Rome in Caesar's Day. 

14. A Roman Boy in the Time of Caesar. 

15. The Battle of Philippi. 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS C^SAR 19 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 

i. Give the date on which the action of the drama 
begins. Describe the political situation at Rome and 
Caesar's position in the state. Describe the exact situa- 
tion of affairs when the first scene of the drama opens. 

2. In the battle from which Caesar is just returning, 
who were the contestants, what was the point at issue, 
and what was the result ? 

3. State the policy of the " Liberal Faction" which 
had arisen in Rome during Caesar's absence and of 
which Brutus was the leader. Show from episodes in 
the play that Caesar was ill fitted to cope with such a 
party. Of what action on the part of Caesar was this 
faction afraid ? How much of an answer to this question 
do you gather from the opening scene of the drama? 

4. Why is the title of " king" so much more abhor- 
rent to Brutus and his party than that of Perpetual 
Dictator — a title which Caesar already bears? Just 
what did the Romans mean by the word " Liberty" ? 

5. Describe the manner in which the Conspiracy was 
conceived and perfected. By what argument was Bru- 

$ 1 tus won over to the conspirators' cause? With whom 
did the idea of the Conspiracy originate ? Quote the 
line which tells you that the Conspiracy had taken a 
definite form in the mind of Cassius. 

6. Putting yourself in the closest possible sympathy 
with the spirit of the times, justify or condemn the Con- 



20 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 

spiracy. Do you find your sympathy with the conspira- 
tors or with Caesar? At what point does your sympathy 
with the cause of the conspirators begin to decline ? 

7. Point out the devices by which Shakespeare sways 
the sympathies of his readers, first to the side of Caesar, 
then to that of the conspirators. In this connection 
comment on the effect produced by the last twenty-five 
lines of Act II, Scene ii. 

8. What impression does Casca's recital of Caesar's 
refusal of the crown make upon you ? How did it 
impress his hearers and further the conspiracy. 

9. Show that the whole action of the drama is the 
outcome of the historical fact that the common weal 
was the grand object of the heroes of Ro?nan story. 
In this connection describe the struggle in the mind of 
Brutus between love of Caesar and love of country. 
Show by quotation that Brutus was fully aware of the 
enormity of his deed. Reproduce the arguments of 
Brutus by which he justified his action as regards 
Caesar. 

10. Write a brief sketch of the slaying of Caesar. 
Why did no one rush to the aid of Caesar? 

11. From the drama describe the manner in which 
the funeral of a distinguished Roman was conducted. 
Bring out the contrast between the funeral orations of 
Brutus and Antony. Which would have appealed to 
you the more strongly had you been in the Forum? 

12. Enumerate the ways in which Antony in his 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 21 

funeral oration aroused the interest and sympathy of the 
citizens. Prove from the conversation of the citizens 
that he had gauged his audience correctly. Comment 
on the word honorable in Antony's speech. What 
different feelings did its use arouse? 

13. Trace the various manifestations of popular fickle- 
ness throughout the play, beginning with the opening 
scene. 

14. Describe the political situation at the beginning 
of Act IV (Cassar had been dead nineteen months). 
At what point in the play did Antony begin to show 
himself an individual to be reckoned with ? Show that 
Brutus had read Antony's character wrongly. 

15. What idea does the drama give you as to the 
character ot Antony? Do you think that his attach- 
ment to Caesar was real or that it was only assumed to 
further his political aspirations ? 

16. At the Battle of Philippi, what was the point at 
issue? Who were the contestants? What was the 
result of the battle? 

17. Bring out the contrast between Brutus and Cas- 
sius by citing episodes from the narrative. In the 
argument between Cassius and Brutus over the slaying 
of Caesar, which was right? Prove the statement that 
in the discussions between Cassius and Brutus every 
point is decided and wrongly decided against Cas- 
sius' judgment. Quote passages to show that at the 
last Cassius and Brutus acknowledged their error. 



22 OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 

1 8. Describe the stage setting and the grouping of 
the following scenes : The Midnight Afeeting, The 
Assassination, The Thunderstorm, Over Ccesar's 
Body, The Tent Scene, The Ghost of Ccesar, The 
Parley. Point out those which seem to you most 
tragic ; most effective ; most convincing. 

19. Show that the chief effects of this drama are 
produced by the words of: the actors, not by their 
actions. 

20. Show that the plot of the drama is the fatal con- 
sequences of the assassination of Caesar, and not the 
deed itself. If the deed alone were the plot, where 
would the drama have ended? How much of the play 
is the result of the thought that the dcemon of Ccesar 
is avenging his murder? Quote the lines which give 
Brutus' feelings on this subject. 

21. Enumerate those scenes of the play which belong 
to the underplot, i. e., Antony's efforts to succeed to 
Caesar's power. 

22. Collect the passages in which the actors of the 
narrative pay tribute to the greatness of Caesar. What 
opinion as to his character do you derive from the con- 
versation of Caesar in the drama? In the scenes of the 
drama in which Caesar plays an active part, does he 
impress you as " the noblest man that ever lived 
in the tide of times" ? Reconcile these inconsisten- 
cies, if, in your mind, any exist. 

23. It is said that Brutus, not Caesar, is the hero of 



OUTLINE STUDY III, JULIUS CAESAR 



this drama. Give your opinion as to the truth of this 
statement. State whether or not your interest in the) 
plav decreases after the funeral of Cassar. 

24. What dramatic devices does Shakespeare use H 
heighten the effect of his tragedy? What part do] 
women play in this drama? Cite six passages in the] 
drama which seem to you to teach a moral lesson appli- 
cable to all times and conditions. 

25. Using Brutus as the type, describe the Roman of 
Caesar's day. 



WV 24 



>9Qe 



